Part 1:Slanted and Enchanted
by BraveTheElements
Summary: After a bit of encouragement, I've decided to release Slanted and Enchanted again, with two parts I never put in, a prologue and an epilogue. For new readers, check it out, it was my first fic ever. R&R please
1. Prologue: Light on a Hill

**A/N: So, after divulging the secret of a few things I never put in Slanted and Enchanted, I've been egged on to put two more chapters in it, in the form of a prologue and an epilogue. This actually is going to start a new trend I might start. If there is enough interest, I'm going to release these two chapters, release two un-released chapters of **_**Leave a Light on**_**, and finish **_**Our Ill Will.**_** We'll see what happens. **

**Hopefully, for newer people to the site, this gives them a chance to see what started it all for me. This was my first fanfic, and something I rarely change simply because of nostalgia. I'm really proud of where I took it, even if it isn't the best piece of work, and hopefully people that haven't read it will enjoy it. So, again, I present Slanted and Enchanted.

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Prologue

Light on a Hill

"Isn't it exciting? This is really an opportunity of a life time. I mean, this could make or break her career."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Hasn't she told you yet?" Brittney and Theodore sat outside a coffee shop on main. Fall was dwindling down, and snow was already on the ground. It was unseasonably cold that week, but they still insisted on sitting outside. There isn't anything like coffee and a cigarette, after all. Brittney took a long pause. Theodore analyzed her person, realizing that she was thinking of something. What was she hiding, and why didn't he know? "Well, I guess…"

"You guess what?" He calmly said back. He was confused and distant. His eyes started to burn; she could feel him digging into her, piercing her soul. His gaze was too much and she averted her, "What is she going to do?" he asked. There was a commotion on the street; people running about, talking, laughing, enjoying their time. He sat on an island of new isolation, he started to look about himself and broke his stare with Brittney. She relaxed a bit after he did, and turned back towards him, _I don't understand, she never keeps anything from me. Why now? Why something so innocent? There would be no reason to hide this from me. _

"Theo," Brittney said cautiously, "It's not that big of a deal."

"I'm aware of that," he said as he raised his voice. The street was getting progressively busier as they sat there. Aromas of the city started to fill the air as the city came alive with the new morning. The sun had taken to the cloudy sky, illuminating the once hidden nooks. The breeze slowed down; their clothes calmed to their bodies, "I just don't understand what the reason to hide this is. I mean, we're so open with each other," his demeanor changed from frustration to concern, "Why hide something so inconspicuous. If anything, I'm thrilled for her, but I'm," he paused and searched for the right word, "angry I guess. A bit betrayed."

"Don't you think that you're blowing this out of proportion?" Brittney said as she got out a cigarette and handed one to Theodore.

"It always seems," he lit up and she followed suit. He took a slow drag and exhaled. Smoke filled their vision, "that people have motives. When hiding things from others, the big things are understandable. Let's say she was cheating on me or something," he stopped as Brittney laughed at the idea softly. He smiled and continued, "That's understandable that she would try to hide it, but with smaller things, the motives don't seem as clear. That makes one think that the motives are just as simple, that something innocuous is actually serious. Sadly, that's the assumption. I don't think she would just forget," he breathed in and exhaled again, "There's a reason she's hiding it from me."

* * *

Theodore and Brittney finished and started the walk back to Brittney's apartment where she was. She was unaware of their approach. Theodore walked ahead of Brittney the entire way, his green scarf played in the breeze as they approached the bus stop. She was behind him, with her head facing down. She was still angry at herself for letting it slip to him. Brittney knew that he didn't know, but, she didn't know why he didn't know. She started to think, _he's absolutely right, why wouldn't she tell him? There seems to be no real reason. Was she keeping it a surprise? That doesn't make any sense, there's nothing for him to be surprised about. For it to be a surprise, he would have to be shocked and benefiting from the shock. He's right. I can't think of a single reason that she wouldn't tell him. _They walked up the busy street in silence, as the city rumbled around them. She got up beside him, "Have you talked to Alvin lately?"

He looked surprised, _Is she just trying to break the silence or is she genuinely interested?, "_I haven't, why?"

"I was just wondering."

"Really?"

"Yes ,really!" she said defensively.

"It's just odd, Brittney," he looked away, "considering that you two haven't talked in forever."

"We still talk," she retorted, "just not that much."

"Fighting isn't talking, it's fighting."

She frowned, "It's communicating,". They stopped at the bus stop with a crew of other people of the city. College kids, homeless, entry level business men, high schoolers, a few tourists. It was loud; everyone seemed to be carrying on a conversation. There's stopped as soon as they got there.

The wind kept blowing, funneled by the buildings. It was powerful, more so than earlier, "Is she going to be there?" Theodore asked.

"She should be," Brittney said as the bus grinded to a halt in front of them.

* * *

They got off the bus and quickly approached the apartment. When they got to the door, Brittney unlocked the door, but stayed back, "This is between the two of you," she said as she left. Theodore walked into the apartment. He could smell the remnants of breakfast on the air.

"Brittney? You back from the library?"

"Not exactly."

Eleanor ran out of the door and showed herself from her room, "Teddy!" she shouted as she ran and hugged him. They had been together for a while now, but she was always enthusiastic to see him. He remembered this and smiled softly, but quickly remembered why he was there, "What in the world are you doing here? I'm not angry or anything, I'm just surprised…" she started to ramble about random things as she left his grasp and walking into to kitchen to get coffee for the two of them. She was still in her pajamas, her blonde hair in a ponytail.

_She always finds a way to look beautiful, regardless of the time of day. Wait, what am I saying? I'm angry still. Jesus I need to stop being distracted. _

"Theo," she paused her rant and looked to him as she sat in the living room with the coffees, "Are you alright?"

_I haven't said anything since I got here,_ he panicked, _I need to say something!_ "Why didn't you tell me about the conference?"

Her smiled immediately dropped and she put her drink down and stood up. Her face was a bit dimmer now, knowing she had been caught, "Theo…"

"I mean, there isn't any rational reason for you not to tell me. It's just a conference. It's not like you are cheating on me or anything, but that's how it's perceived, you know. Something so small, so innocuous, it shouldn't be a big deal but now it is—"

"Calm down, Teddy," she interrupted him, "You're blowing this out of proportion."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I just," she paused and turned away from him, "I didn't want you to, I don't know, freak out or get sad or something. I'm going to be gone for a while, and I didn't want your sadness to sway me into not doing it. If I saw you sad, I know that I wouldn't do it. It's just, It's just that I wanted to wait until the end of the week to tell you, when it would be too late for me to get out of it. I'm so sorry, baby."

"Ellie," he walked over to her, "is that all?"

"What?"

"I would never let you miss this opportunity because of me. I would hate myself if I did. This is going to be an amazing experience for you, and I don't want you to miss out," he smiled and kissed her softly, "It's not that big then. I just couldn't figure out why you wouldn't tell me."

"I guess it seems a bit stupid, now that I look at it."

"It's not," he was holding her in his arms, the woman that he loved. He knew, even miles away, nothing could break their closeness. There was a knock at the door; Theodore let go of Eleanor to let her answer it. She walked over and opened the door, to reveal her sister, Brittney.

"Are you two okay now?"

Eleanor smiled and Theodore said from the interior, "Yeah, it's all fine."


	2. Chapter 1: Lip Service

**This is my first ever Fan fic, and I honestly never thought I would be sharing it. Writing is very personal to me, and I usually keep it close to my chest, but, in this instance, I decided to give it a shot. To people that have already read it, I'm continually updating and editing small parts of it, so stick around and see whatever gets changed; i've finally gotten the hang of the site and now all the changes i've been making in the document manager are in the story. To new people, thanks for reading, and any criticism/praise/hate mail/hugs is/are accepted with open arms. More specifically, if you have any questions that I didn't address in the text, I will answer them. More often than not they're going to be answered in later chapters, but sometimes I simply forget things. I hope you enjoy it; I know i've had a blast writing it. **

**P.S. I've decided to start a series of stories and iv'e started to write the next part concurrently with this one. It doesn't have a name yet, but it take place 4 years before this one. This story starts in media res with the series, and there will be at least two more, one set before and one set afterwards. I'm not sure what i'm going to do with the one set after ****_Slanted and Enchanted, _but expect that one to be written much later than this one considering i'm doing the prologue first. So that should be coming soon, and I hope you enjoy it, faceless reader. My given timeline to finishing this epic is the end of the semester and I hope I can stick to it. Again, I go to a highly competitive school and work part time so finding time to write has been difficult. Hopefully I can get it done in a reasonable time frame!**

**Update: So... chapter 10 is well on it's way to be done. I have about a third of the chapter done but it's been a slow process. I know what I want to do but it's hard to translate that to paper and make it interesting, my dear reader. Please leave reviews so I know what to improve upon and if you have any suggestions that you think I should consider writing about and it fits into the story I just might write it in. A large part of chapter nine came as a result of my roommate and myself brainstorming about what would be a compelling diverging plot twist; needless to say, feedback is important and appreciated. Thanks for reading and I would love to know who these thousand some-odd hits are so share with me!**

**Now that Chapter 10 is complete, i've decided what exactly will happen with this whole thing. There are only two chapters left in Slanted and Enchanted, but the story doesn't just end there. This saga will be done in three parts, this one being the second in the timeline, the first one in the series. I've started to write Part 2: Awareness is the Option, which will be set six years in the past. If you, the reader, has been noticing, i've been eluding to a few events that happened six years ago and those things will be examined and you will be able to see the characters develop into how they are now. The tone will be much lighter and characters will be based more around themselves in the classic lore, and, considering their age, this one will be rated T and with less instances of relations and things of that nature. There will be romance, there will be conflict and heartbreak but it won't be as heavy as it was in the first part. Overall, it's going to be a fun journey and, by request, I can send you a sneak peak of the first chapter which is under way now, but won't be released until Slanted and Enchanted is complete.**

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Chapter 1- Lip service

"When did it become acceptable for tenured professors to just not show up at times? I feel like I'm just paying lip service to the same old problems at this point, but it's something that needs to be addressed. I'm not going to show up if you aren't, that does not make sense."

Simon sighed, "I hate to see you this angry, but you can't really do much in this situation."

"Well, how many times this year have you showed up to class, prepared to learn, to have the professor not be there? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills or something does this not happen to anyone else?"

"It hasn't happened to me yet, but it did twice last year. Lab days both times, they were a mess if you can believe it." Simon said in between deep drags. "Just try not to worry about it."

"It's hard not to, the last time he wasn't here content covered that day was on the test. I hadn't expected it, and, after re reading the material, it was an abstract concept that needed to be explained." Theodore stopped in the quad and searched his pockets. "Mind if I get one of those?"

"Of course." Simon grabbed a cigarette for himself and his brother, they continued walking in silence.

It was the end of the first semester of their junior year at University. The wind breathed through the trees in a lamenting manor. It was 4 o'clock, and the sun was beginning its daily decedent into the West. The wind was howling the saddest song they had every heard. In and out, it breathed and flowed wit the motion of the earth. It was snowing lightly.

It was a fifteen minute walk to their studio apartment on 3rd street, so the two brothers opted to take the bus instead. The three of them shared a three room flat, a far cry from when they were children. It seemed like that had more space than they actually did; there was never enough for all the people that crashed there frequently. Alvin hadn't been sleeping there for a few days, leaving the other two much more room than usual. They had become accustomed to the space. The bus had started to shake uncontrollably on the broken ground. The two stood in the aisle, jerking forward and backward with the movement of the bus. It was like the ocean.

"Has Alvin been at the girl's place these last few nights?" Theodore fell forward and recollected himself quickly. His bad almost flew open, but he was fast to catch it. They had gone through the motions of the bus before and it was bound to happen.

"I was talking to Jeanette and she said he hasn't been. She was worried, but I'm sure he was at the house. They were doing some stuff with the pledges so he had to be there, but I'm not sure why he slept there though." Simon was looking out the window, waiting for their stop. "Haven't you spoken to Ellie recently? I'm sure she would know."

"She's been off campus working on an experiment for her thesis." They arrive at their stop and started to move to the front of the bus. "I've tried not to bother her considering how much work she has to do." They stepped off into the blistering cold. It had started to snow since they got on the bus.

"She would probably be glad to hear from you." Simon said as he pulled out a piece of gum. His phone fell out of his pocket and hit the ground hard. "Really?"

Simon tended to his phone as Theodore grabbed for his. "You're right Simon; I'll give her a call." The phone rings a few times and goes to voicemail, Theodore hangs up without leaving a message.

"No answer?"

"No, but she'll get back to me sometime. Anyway, she'll be here tomorrow." He trailed off at the end. It was difficult for Theodore to be without contact with her for such a long time. Two weeks she was away, working into all hours of the night. They had talked a few days ago, but she was too tired for conversation. They passed through the small patch of forest leading to their apartment.

"Are you ready for tonight?" A voice called for them from the other end of the forest, the way of the apartment.

Simon squinted and strained to see who it was, but he couldn't tell. Light footsteps came close to them until the mysterious person's visage was recognizable.

"Brittney, how are you doing?" Theodore greeted her.

"It's good, just bombed a test but it should be alright. It's not for my major anyway." Brittney caught up with the two and started to walk with them. "Are you two headed back to your place?"

"Yeah, time to relax before the big event tonight." Simon finally got his phone to turn on again.

"Mind if I come with?" Brittney was between the two of them now.

"Of course not, it's basically your house, too." Theodore said, he got a phone call, "Hey, I have to take this, go on ahead." Brittney and Simon walked ahead and Theodore stayed in the woods to take the call.

"Hey Ellie, it's nice to hear from you again!

"The feeling is mutual, I was in a lecture. How are you?"

Theodore began to walk again, trying to get back to the apartment before the chill gets to him. "I'm fine, just missing you."

"I miss you too." There was a silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Nothing needed to be said. "Hey, isn't that party tonight?"

"Yeah, it should be a great time. Alvin knows how to throw a gala event. He's been a complete ghost as of late, hopefully preparing for a great night."

"I wish I could be there! If I didn't have to finish the last of the testing tonight I would leave early." Eleanor began to start running, "I got to go, I'm going to be late! I love you!"

"Love you too, later."

Theodore had arrived at the apartment and unlocked the door. He was overcome by the smell of incense and 80's music. Brittney put on The Smith's _The Queen is Dead_. An immaculate album, it saved rock in the 80's.

"Hey man, was that Ellie?" Simon said as he poured himself a drink. Tomato Juice with wheatgrass, an odd combination but it was his favorite.

"Yeah, returning my call. Thank God she's going to be back soon." Theodore went to his room and started changing from his sweats to his casual clothes.

"How's she doing?" Brittney asked, "We talked for about an hour a few days ago but she seemed so stressed."

"She seems very chill now. She has one more night of testing and she'll be done." Theodore comes back out, "How's this?"

Brittney examined him, "Oh that's hot, and I'm glad she's doing better. I worry about her sometimes."

Theodore laughed, and so did Simon and Brittney. She changed the record to the Velvet Underground and Nico, After Hours. It's was four thirty, still no word from Alvin, and Jeanette was talking to a professor about a paper. She was bad about turning things in on time, but she was still maintaining stellar grades, something Alvin and Theodore were highly jealous of. She would be done around 5, so until then, they decided to stay at the apartment until then. Jeanette probably didn't know where they were, but they were confidant in her skills of deduction. She met with them slightly earlier than expected and they started to make preparations for tonight.

"Are we going to need any money for the cover?" Jeanette asked as she grabbed her purse from the living room.

"I would hope not, Alvin is running the entire thing." Simon asserted.

"We can't be sure, sometimes things get crazy. We might not be on the list." Brittney came out of the bedroom after changing, "It's not hard for these things to happen."

"That's true, is there any way we can get in contact with Alvin to make sure we're in?" Theodore rolled a cigarette and put it away for later.

"His phone is off; it's going straight to voicemail." Brittney said, she grabbed the cigarette Theodore just rolled. He chimed in, trying to get her to give it back, but she went ahead and lit it. "I'm worried about him, he should have gotten back to us by now."

It had stopped snowing and the wind had calmed, but it was colder than before. Simon broke the moment's silence, "There's no need to worry; we just need to go grab some cash from an ATM. I can grab it and you guys can pay me back later."

"Sounds good, but I don't particularly want to leave the nice warm apartment." Theodore laid down on the couch he was sitting on and got comfortable.

Brittney chimed in, "I agree, I'm not going out again until it's necessary."

Simon looked distressed at their response, but who could blame them? It had gotten colder and temperatures continued to fall. Jeanette then looked to Simon.

"I'll go with you, it's not that cold," She walked over to him, and he immediately brightened up. "Let's go Simon; we'll see you two later."

The two left and Theodore and Brittney consigned themselves to their own personal projects. Theodore started to edit tracks he had recorded the day previous with his band _Vapours_, and Brittney decided to clean the kitchen. It's not usually a good sign when she starts to clean, it means something is on her mind. There was a silence lingering in the air.

"Theo?" Brittney asked Theodore while she washed the few dishes used for lunch that day.

Theodore came into the kitchen, "Yeah?" He and Brittney were friends but they didn't talk that much so this was odd.

"Alvin has been so, distant, lately. Is there anything wrong with him?"

"I'm not sure. Honestly, I haven't seen much of him this week and I've been so stressed out with my philosophy thesis that I haven't been paying much attention to anything gone on outside myself and Ellie."

"We broke up like 5 months ago; I hope that isn't what's bothering him. I haven't even seen any other guys since then; I've kinda been a ghost. I don't go anywhere, I just do schoolwork. My GPA skyrocketed this semester!" They both laughed at this. Another silence ensued. "I just don't think it was the best decision on my part. How has he been since the split?"

Theodore put down his headphones "Brittney," He stood up, "I'm not going to do recon for you. The best way to figure this out is to talk to him in person. Trust me, it's for the best." He walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder, "I think he would like that too." Theodore walked back to the living room and continued to mix tracks. She pondered his words for a while and continued to clean.

"Hey Theo?"

He looked at her with a calm smile, "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"It's no problem."

* * *

Jeanette and Simon showed back up at the apartment after quite a bit of time. Simon had the money, and they tried to call Alvin one more time.

"Still nothing," Jeanette hung up her cell phone and went back into the living room.

"We'll just go, I'm sure we'll be fine." Simon said as he got up. The others followed suit and started to leave. As soon as they did, they noticed that Brittney was still getting ready.

"You literally had 5 hours to get ready, how can you possibly not be ready yet?" Jeanette said as she came back into the apartment to get Brittney.

"I'm sorry; Guys I don't know if I should go out tonight."

Theodore and Simon came back in, "You said it yourself, you've been a ghost this semester and now it's almost over. Come with us." Theodore came to the bathroom where they were getting ready.

"Tonight means a great deal to Alvin. He needs to throw a good party in order to have a successful rush. Being there will be big; we're kind of well known around here." Simon was comforting her. Jeanette smiled at Simon and Brittney did the same. They started to leave the apartment to Alvin's party. Alvin was in charge of rush for next semester and rushing started this week unofficially. He threw this party as a way of recruiting and he wanted the rest of them to be there as a way of showing how he can throw a good party. They were still very well known across campus for their music even though they hadn't played together for a couple of years and they were notorious for going to only the best parties on campus. They weren't sure how their reputation cam about; it was coincidental that they just happened to always be at the best parties. After walking for a while, they arrived at the house and the party was already going insane.

The house was only meant for roughly 50 people to live in it, but there were at least 200 people in and outside the house. The music was loud and the drinks were plentiful; it seemed to be going well. They approached the door; a sophomore for one of Jeanette's classes was working security.

"Hey Jonathan, how's the party going?" Jeanette said as they approached the door. She stumbled a bit, but this wasn't out of the ordinary for her.

He looked miles away, but responded, "Hey Jeanette, Theo, Simon, Brittney. You guys are on the list so go ahead in," They moved towards the door and felt the embrace of heat from the crowd. "Oh wait; can I see some ID's?" He lunged forward in an attempt to stop them from getting any further.

They were all of age for the first time in a long time, so this wasn't much of a problem. Jonathan told them, "You need an X to get drinks and to prove that you're here legitimately."

He gave Brittney and X and she looked at it, "I'm surprised you guys are carding," she said.

"Yeah, we're being careful this year," He looked away and tended to some new people coming to the door. They entered the large common area first where there was a large group of people dancing. Brittney joined in first and started dancing with the large group. Jeanette and Simon spirited away almost immediately, leaving Theodore to his own devices. He thought he heard a voice calling for him from the next room.

He wandered the crowd for a while until he got to the dining room. People were playing Civil War; it was an intense game. The music got a little louder in there even though the DJ was in the next area. Theodore turned around to leave when someone jumped on his back; someone very light. Theodore noticed the drink in his and decided to let him down softly.

"Theo! It's good to see you." It was Alvin; he hugged his little brother as they usually had. Alvin was with a woman Theodore had never seen before. He wasn't exactly with her; a better phrase would be she was following him.

"Alvin, it's been quite a while since you disappeared!"

"Yeah man, it's been crazy here. Doing pledge activities with the little guys and setting up this party has taken up all of my free time this last week. I've had time for that, school, and that's it." Theodore smiled at his brother. He missed him for the week he was gone. Alvin doesn't know how much they worry about him when he disappears. "Want a drink or something?"

"Sure," Alvin and Theodore approached the bartender and Theodore asked him, "What kind of beer do you have?"

"All kinds, but I need to see the right mark," The bartender replied. They showed him their X's. "Fantastic Gents, what will you have?"

Theodore ordered as Alvin started to look away. The woman pestered him to go dance with her. They disappeared before Theodore turned around.

"That Alvin, always running off, right?" A woman had approached Theodore from across the room. He had seen her before but he couldn't quite put a name to the face. She was shorter, maybe 5'3" and blonde. She was gorgeous, and she was talking to him.

From across the house, Brittney had continued to dance with nobody in particular. She had been asked to dance many times, but she seemed not to care. She was waiting for one man that night. She made her way through the smoking hot crowd to the dinner room where Theodore was. The woman that had talked to him earlier was still talking to him. He seemed distant, but she was so close to him he could feel her heat. Brittney knew Theodore obviously wasn't interested, but he continued to make small talk and drink his drink with no haste. Brittney made her way over to a table where she found Simon and Jeanette after their long absence playing a game of Beirut. They were a dangerous deceptive pair when it came to Beirut; they were far better than they appeared.

The night slowly continued on, Theodore was bored to tears until he got in on a game of flip cup, and Brittney kept pestering him about the woman Alvin was with.

"She didn't say her name, and I barely caught her face."

"Did you recognize her?"

"No, she seemed a little younger than us, maybe a freshman or something." Brittney looked disheartened from this, perhaps a little disgusted. "But, I'm not sure of course." Simon and Jeanette had disappeared again, they might have gone back the girl's place but they left without saying anything.

"I'm going to go find him, I'll see you later." Brittney ran off, looking for Alvin most anywhere. Theodore was about to leave at this point. The whole night had been a bust. It was fun, but all he could think about all night was Eleanor. He had another drink, played some Beirut and waited for Brittney and Alvin so they could leave.

Brittney had started to search the house over for any sign of Alvin, searching all parts of the house except for the second floor, where all of the rooms are. She ran up the flight of stairs quickly and looked for Alvin. Nobody lurked in the hallways upstairs. She was about to turn the last corner when she spot him from down the hallway walking out of a room.

"Alvin!" she yelled, "Where have you been all night? I've wanted to talk to you."

"I've been around, what do you need?"

"Well," she looked away from him, "I realized that, that I made a mistake. I shouldn't have broken up with you over the summer. We belong together; you know that."

"Brittney, I don't know what to say-"As Alvin said this, a door behind him opened. The woman he was with earlier came out of the room.

"Who's there Alvin?"

"One second, Emily." Alvin turned to her, and then to Brittney, "I'm sorry. I have to go. I'll be back around the apartment tomorrow; we'll talk then."

Brittney fought the tears until she left the second floor. The room began to fade out for Brittney. This was too surreal; she didn't know how to react at this point. Theodore saw her stumble back downstairs in a daze. She hadn't had much that night, so he was confused. She broke down and started to cry; Theodore grabbed her quickly and covered her from judging eyes.

"Brittney, what's going on?"

"He's with that slut! I just can't get over it. I'm so furious right now." She wasn't furious, she was forlorn. He could see the pain that emanated from the core of her anger. She was shaking in the cold.

"Let's get out of here, where's your coat? I'll go grab it."

"It's at the coat check."

Theodore ran back into the house and grabbed her coat.

"Theo, what happened to Brittney?" Alvin found him from across the room and ran to him.

"We're leaving, she's upset but I know it's not your fault."

"You're damn right it's not my fault, she dumped me, and you saw how I was for months afterwards."

"I know, but, for now it's best if I take her home for now so she can chill out."

Alvin looked out the window. He could see Brittney waiting in the cold, "Thanks, Theo."

"Don't' worry about," he started to leave with her coat, "you both deserve to be happy and I'll help you in whatever way I can." Theodore ran out of the house and met back up with Brittney.

"You have a smoke?"

"Yeah," he ruffled through his pockets and found his pack. He pulled out two and they lit up. They walked in silence for a while to Brittney's apartment.

"Ellie's lucky to have you, Theo. You just treat everyone so well."

"I'm lucky to have her too."

"It works with you two and I'm so happy that you have that but I'm jealous. I just wish I could have that too." She calmed down and was able to stop shaking. Maybe she wasn't cold anymore but that most likely wasn't the case. She had what alcoholics call a moment of clarity, "that's all I've ever wanted with Alvin, but I've just been so stubborn and determined to get to the top. I should have worked with him to get there or just given up on a dream of fame. I'm happy without the constant touring and the insufferable hours. Why couldn't I have realized this earlier?" She started to tear up; Theodore put his arm around her and started to comfort her.

"I wasn't just you. You both are the most stubborn people I know, and I'm sure you two will be back together. Alvin was just so hurt by the break up; he needs some time to heal." They got to her apartment.

"Thank you Theo. We never really talked before tonight even though we've known each other for so long. I regret that; you're very smart, you know that?"

"I'm not all that," he laughed quietly, "you're my friend; it's what friends do." She walked inside; Simon and Jeanette were already asleep. He turned back and started to leave. Brittney quickly jumped at him and gave him a hug.

"I hope you and Ellie are always happy together," she broke off the hug and walked inside.

Theodore walked home in the cold in silence thinking about what she said. That's all he wanted in life, to be happy with Eleanor. The apartment was a distance away; it started to get warmer as he walked.

When he arrived home, it was 2 am. The house was surprisingly quiet. Without anyone there, the house seemed half of what it should be. He put on a record and he started to mix the tracks he had been working on before the party. Time passed, and the thought about Eleanor the entire time. He wished nothing more than to see her. It was a little past 3 and he decided to have a cigarette then go to sleep. He heard the door slowly open.

"Simon?"

"Hmm, I sure hope not." It was a woman's voice.

"Ellie…" He ran up to embrace her, "How did you-"before he could finish his sentence she interrupted him with a kiss. Their separation had brought on a passion only known by longing. The kiss seemed to last four hours; their bodies communicating the last two weeks of sorrow and longing. In one moment, all ill feelings were gone in Theodore; he was once again complete.

"Brittney told me about how you took care of her tonight. Thank you so much." They were talking in between breaths.

"Think nothing of it." She stopped and buried her head in his chest.

"It's not though, thank you for stepping in while I was gone." Eleanor took off her coat. She hadn't been in the door more than 30 seconds before they embraced again, "I'm so tired, let's get to bed. I'll tell you all about my trip in the morning."


	3. Chapter 2: A Day in the Life

Chapter 2- A Day in the Life

Eleanor had woken up some time before Theodore did and started to make a pot of coffee. It had been an extremely long night for her. She finished the last trials of her psychology experiment as quickly as possible and drove a four hour drive back to Philadelphia. She was still tired, but she wanted to start her day with Theodore as early as possible. She put the coffee on the burner and crawled back into bed. It had gotten warmer since she returned; the snow stopped falling for the first time in a few days. Theodore woke up and examined Eleanor as she slept. Her pure white skin reminded him of an angel, sent to consecrate his life. He was deeply in love with her, and had been since they were children. When he got out of bed, she did too.

"Good morning, Teddy."

"You're the only one that calls me that," He laughed and she grabbed his hand.

"I would hope so, that's my name for you."

"And it's a name I embrace." Theodore but some sweatpants on and Eleanor grabbed her shirt, "You know I don't mind it, right?"

"Good, because I'm not going to stop calling you Teddy, I like it too much." He leaned in for a kiss and she reciprocated. They feel back into bed and laid there for a while.

"Don't fall asleep; I want to spend time with you today." Eleanor said as she got up.

"Let's start this day," Theodore looked at the clock. It was 9 am.

They moved into the kitchen. Theodore grabbed some cereal and poured some for the two of them. Eleanor grabbed two cups and poured some coffee. They sat down, and there was a knock at the door. Theodore went and got it; it was Alvin and Emily.

"Hey Alvin and," Theodore paused. He didn't know this woman's name.

"Emily," Alvin looked back and introduced her.

"Emily then, have you met Eleanor?"

She looked into the room, but Eleanor had run back into the bedroom and threw on some pants.

"I'm in here!" Eleanor came back out and greeted his new face, "I'm Eleanor, Theo's girlfriend," Theodore smiled; he liked hearing her say it.

"I'm Emily, Alvin's girlfriend," Alvin had a slight look of shock on his face. He tried to hide it, but Eleanor and Theodore could see right through it. There was a small silence.

"Is that coffee I smell?" Alvin said.

"It is," Theodore went back into the kitchen and grabbed two cups, "you two want some?"

"I'd love some," Alvin walked in a grabbed the two cups, "Here you go," he gave it to Emily. She nodded and began to drink it, "Where is everyone?"

Theodore came back from the kitchen with some creamer, "Brittney is back at her place, and Jeanette and Simon should be working with Dr. Long by now," they both were working in a lab with one of the professors on an experiment. They had been very secretive about what it was about, so nobody bothered to pry. Eleanor was the only person who could keep with them when it came to science, but their fields were so different that she never bothered to figure out what they were doing.

Emily finished her cup and asked, "How long have you two been together?"

"Since the beginning of time really," Eleanor laughed and Theodore joined in, "Officially it's been 5 years, but we've known each other for most of our lives."

"That's so nice, I want that-"She trailed off and Alvin looked somewhat distressed.

"We should probably leave, I have to get back to the house to direct clean up. Later you two." Alvin started to leave, Emily went with him. They left before Theodore of Eleanor could say goodbye.

"Well, that was sufficiently awkward," Theodore walked into the living room and Eleanor followed him. They sat down and put on a record.

"Who the hell was that?"

"I have no idea," Theodore said as he lit some incense, "I haven't really seen Alvin for a while and that may have happened while I wasn't seeing him. That was probably who Brittney was talking about last night."

"Did she see them together?"

"She must have. When I saw her again, she was really torn up. They were both talking about some girl, never mentioning her name," Theodore laid down, with Eleanor half on top of him.

"We should do something for Brittney, distract her or something," Eleanor got more comfortable.

"We could go into town today, go to a club or something,"

"Go to a club? You hate clubs!"

"Yeah but Brittney loves them."

"You're just too sweet," She laughed, "I can't exactly imagine you at a club though."

"Trust me, neither can I."

* * *

Simon returned to the apartment at around noon, looking completely ragged. He had been working in the lab for hours after not getting much sleep and drinking a bit too much the night before. Jeanette was back at their apartment getting some sleep. Theodore and Eleanor were getting caught back up when he arrived. He dragged his feet in and sat down next to their couch on the floor.

"Good morning Simon" said Eleanor.

"Hello Eleanor. When did you get back?"

"Last night sometime, I think it was at 3 am."

Simon got up and got a glass of water and some painkillers. He sat back down with them and had a cigarette. Theodore had one too; Eleanor opted not to this time.

"Have a little much Simon?" Eleanor said with a laugh.

He looked at her for a second and then responded, "Yes, it was a bit much. I do remember what all happened last night so that's a good thing."

"You did disappear with Jeanette for hours on end, so nobody really knows what happened besides the two of you," Theodore said as he got up to ash, "Oh yeah, we're going to a club tonight."

"You hate clubs." Eleanor laughed after he said that.

"I just haven't given them enough of a chance."

Simon looked perplexed as Eleanor continued to laugh under her breathe. Theodore looked at her as angrily as he could with Eleanor, which wasn't very much. She looked at him with empathy, and he knew it. Simon asked, "Who are we going for?"

"Theodore of course, he wants to dance with all the ladies tonight," Eleanor hugged Theodore as she said this. Theodore laughed with her.

"I'm not sure if I should go, I should be recovering tonight anyway. There's too much to do tomorrow too. I can't be running around doing things tonight," Simon got up and went to the bathroom after he said that. Theodore ran to the door after him and spoke to him through the door.

"Brittney had a run in with Alvin's new lady and we want to distract her from all of this. You know how she loves the clubs in town; we should try to get in."

"You know it wouldn't be a problem, you guys were known worldwide for a decade," Eleanor ran to the door after Theodore did.

"Were? We're still famous in Japan," Simon retorted as he got out of the bathroom, "I'm not feeling it, you can call Jeanette, she might want to go."

Eleanor looked at him shrewdly, "what's going on between you two anyway?"

Simon looked taken aback, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, Simon I don't know it's just weird waking up at my apartment and you always seem to be there but when I talk to Jeanette she insists you two aren't together."

"Can we talk about this when I'm not hung over, Eleanor?" Theodore picked her up over his shoulder and took her back to the living room. She tried to struggle herself free, but Theodore was stronger than she was now.

She gave up, but continued to talk to Simon, "It's really confusing her, what's going on between the two of you," she was still being carried by Theodore, "God Theo please let me down."

"Nope," Theodore looked up at her, and she impotently tried to hit him.

"Whatever, I can talk from up here. She just wants to know what's going on."

Simon walked into his room and got into a towel, "I'm taking a shower now!" he shouted from in the room.

"Leave him alone for a while, he has no idea what he wants to do right now." Theodore had put her down and they sat down on the couch, "I know you're just looking out for her, but he's just confused as to what he wants right now."

Eleanor looked away from Theodore and decided to go out and have a smoke. Theodore put on a record, Belle and Sebastian this time, and went out with her.

Theodore walked outside and she looked at him with full eyes, "I just don't want her to get hurt," her cigarette went out.

"Neither does he."

She looked at him for a second and started into his eyes, "When did you get so wise?"

"When you were gone I guess," He laughed and she grabbed his hand.

"It couldn't have been those two weeks, you were just holding out on me," She laughed.

"You found me out! It was my plan to hold my advice away from everyone," he smiled and she finished her cigarette. They went back inside; Simon had already left.

* * *

"So Alvin, the two guys you live with are your brothers?"

Emily and Alvin had spent the entire day together and had gone to grab dinner together. She wasn't much for eating, or at least that was the running joke with her friends. She was a tall, slender girl with deep green eyes and black hair. The restaurant smelled like burn outs and burgers.

"No, I just found two other talking chipmunks at school and decided they were cool to hang with," he smirked and she playfully jabbed him in the arm.

"You're ridiculous," She started to get up, "I'm going to the restroom," She left him there with his thoughts. They were about to go over to one of her friends place for a meet and greet that he had been dreading the last week. Her friends were hard to please. Nothing was good enough for her, and they let him know it almost every change they got. She returned from the bathroom and sat back down with Alvin.

"Are you ready to go? My friends are really excited to get some one on one time with you," Emily said as she grabbed her purse.

"I just can't wait, it should be a blast."

"Whoa, what's with the sarcasm?"

"Your friends hate me, plain and simple. Whenever I'm around you, one of them makes some sort of passive aggressive comment about me."

"That's completely untrue!"

"It's not; it's either that or a backhanded compliment. Example, 'hey Alvin is that a new shirt?', 'why no it's not, why do you say that?', 'oh well usually your red shirts are faded and dingy but this one is so crisp'."

"Who said that and When?"

"Jamie two nights ago when we were at her house."

"Does this mean you don't want to go and hang out with my friends?"

"Considering the evidence, I think it's highly illogical to continue to take punishment from the same people."

"Well, you go ahead and stay right here, and I'll go and hang out with them," Emily stormed off before Alvin could get a word in edgewise. He stared into his drink.

"My, that was quite a confrontation."

Alvin recognized the voice coming from behind him but he couldn't put a face to it, "Whoever you are, you're one hundred percent correct my friend."

"Whoever you are? Look behind you at least."

Alvin peered behind him, not really expecting anyone in particular, "what are you doing here Jeanette?"

"Oh I was at the library working on a few assignments that I need to get done before finals. Now I'm here grabbing the best burger on campus for the first time in a while. Mind if I join you?"

"By all means. Why are you working on a Saturday night? You should be at a party or something."

"Oh after last night, I think I'm done with the party scene for a while."

"I barely saw you last night, what all happened?"

"Well Simon and I went off to the basement and danced for a while and talked with some friends we had in the house. We both just had too much and I just told him too much."

"Drunken words are sober thoughts," Alvin said as he took another drink of his coffee, "Well, it's not like it's all that bad. I'm pretty sure your feelings for each other are pretty plain on the table."

"You would think at this point but it hasn't been. I'm much to shy and he's too reserved. We went back to my place. Nothing happened, but we just talked forever about us and we just came to the conclusion that it isn't the time for anything."

"It isn't the time? If not now then when?"

"You know, later, when we can focus on each other rather than school and our degrees."

"Jeanette, you can still focus on each other and school at the same time. It would be easy enough for the both of you; you're taking all of the same classes and the nature of those classes allows you two to work together most of the time. It's just that, you can be happy and focus at the same time."

"You think so?"

"I know you can," at that moment, Alvin got a text.

"Who's that? Emily?" Jeanette was perplexed by his behavior.

"No, "Alvin read the text carefully, "It's Brittney and she wants me to come over."


	4. Chapter 3: I Can't Believe it's Snowing

Chapter 3- I Can't Believe it's Snowing

The fall semester ended without consequence. Theodore and Eleanor seemed to be the only two who were still on good terms with each other, which made it undeniably difficult for everyone to be together. The wind seemed to howl every night and it seemed to get worse leading up to Christmas Day.

"Merry Christmas everyone," Alvin said as he came down the stairs. He was the last one to wake up, as he usually was on Christmas morning. It was noon, but it was dark due to the snow. Alvin opened the door to let their dog, Lilly, in after she had been out. The breeze was crisp and unforgiving.

"Glad you could join us, Alvin," Simon said in this usual crass tone that he took when he was annoyed with Alvin.

"I thought I ought to grace everyone with my presence," Alvin sat down and grabbed a present from Theodore.

Dave came in from the kitchen, where he and Theodore were preparing dinner, "Will Miss Miller and the girls be joining us tonight?"

"I'm not sure what their plans are," Simon said quickly.

"Oh well, I guess it's just us," Dave turned into the kitchen, "Theodore, do you know anything about this."

"Alvin and Brittney are going through something weird right now and Simon and Jeanette are on odd terms," Theodore told Dave, and then continued to beat the potatoes into a fine crème.

"But you and Eleanor are fine I'm assuming."

"Oh yeah things are going great; I'm just worried for Alvin and Brittney. Simon and Jeanette's situation is understood by everyone although we don't like it. Something happened between Alvin and Brittney that nobody knows about."

Alvin walked into the kitchen and the two went silent, "Geez, you two talking about me or something?" he grabbed a drink and left laughing. Someone put on a Decemberists CD in the other room.

"Good song," Dave said.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

* * *

The afternoon continued slowly. They opened presents and ate dinner. The conversation was little and long in between. There was no energy in the room. The three brothers went up into their old room after dinner, the room that they had so many happy memories in. For the three, it just didn't seem like the same room without the same emotions. Al l three of them were troubled; now, it seemed that it wasn't going to be the same until everything was fixed. Theodore left to go be with Eleanor for the holidays, leaving Alvin and Simon alone.

The two hadn't been very close over the years. They loved each other as people and brothers, but they were always at each other throats over idealistic differences. Alvin's scheming and Simon's morality clashed frequently.

"Did you hear that Emily and I broke up?"

"Yes, I heard that from Jeanette. Oddly I didn't hear it from you," Simon continued to read an arduous magazine article about genocide.

"Yeah sorry about that, I had to get a little caught up before finals so I spent most of my time in the Library."

"It's not a problem, can you put in that new CD you got?"

"Of course, it's a great album," There was a long silence after that as Simon continued to read and Alvin got on the computer. The two didn't talk for about an hour after that.

"What does this break up mean for you and Brittney?" Simon asked Alvin.

"I'm not sure yet. It might mean we get back together or it might not. I just hope we could be on talking terms again here soon. It's not fun just hanging out with you and Theo all day, no offense."

"None taken, I know what you mean."

"Well, allow me to turn the camera around on you. Why aren't you and Jeanette together again?"

"It's complicated."

"It's not complicated, you're just scared."

"Scared of what? What could I possibly be afraid of?"

"Being tied down at a young age, finding happiness, something of that nature."

"That makes absolutely no sense Alvin. Why would I avoid any of those things?"

Alvin didn't answer; he didn't have one that made any sense. He was just sure that Simon didn't have a reason to not be with her.

"It's not like you should have any right to lecture me, Alvin. Since when are you the master of relationships? It's ridiculous how many girlfriends you've had over the years."

"That was then, this is now. Yeah, I've seen my fair share of women, but that's taught me a great deal about how relationships can be good or bad. What I know for sure is that yours will work if you give it a chance."

"That's not what I'm concerned about. It's just that, she deserves to be given all the attention in the world. She deserves more than I can give her right now. I need to be focus on my future in order to provide the lifestyle she deserves, and, if that means sacrificing my happiness now, I'll do it."

Alvin didn't know what to say. They sat in their room in silence for a while until Simon opted to leave.

* * *

Eleanor and Theodore had met up after the girls had dinner with Miss Miller and the two had gone into town to try to get some privacy. Since the others had started fighting, Eleanor and Theodore couldn't get a moment alone, but now that they were back in Hollywood, they could walk around more without being burdened by the cold. It was starting to get dark out as they got to the cross streets of Silverlake boulevard and Sunset Boulevard.

"Weren't you and Vapours going to play a show here?" Eleanor remembered Theodore's band's flirtation with a record contract last year. They got big in LA's Indie scene for a while, playing shows with Elliot Smith and the Silversun Pickups.

"Yeah, we were going to play at some lounge," Theodore usually didn't like to talk about his band because of his almost success. They all were trying to escape their past image as an international pop sensation in years past, but they've come to terms with it. They would always be The Chipmunks.

"Are you guys going to play any shows coming up?"

"We have one we're playing after we get back from break. Hopefully I'll be done mixing the new CD by then," Theodore wasn't paying much attention. Being back in the Silver Lake district brought up too many bad memories, he was close back then to being a legitimate artist. It was one year ago, but it couldn't have seemed like a decade had passed since then.

Eleanor grabbed his arm and held on to it tightly. She had an innate ability to sense when Theodore was distraught. They walked in silence for a while until she broke the silence, "Do you want to go to the Mix Lounge? Maybe some good bands will be there."

"Do you think that they will be having a show on Christmas Day?"

"Maybe it will be a Jewish band," Eleanor smirked and Theodore laughed. She always knew how to make him feel better.

* * *

By the next day, Theodore hadn't come home. This wasn't something completely out of the ordinary; they've been known to wander about town until the early hours of the morning. Simon and Alvin went downstairs to find breakfast already made but Dave was nowhere to be found.

"Where is everyone today" Alvin sat down at the table next to his brother.

Simon gave him the orange juice as he sat down, "Theo didn't come home last night and I'm not rightly sure where Dave is."

"He probably just went into town to grab something," Alvin wasn't sure where Dave was, but he guessed he had shopping to do considering there was very little food left in the house after Christmas.

"You think I should call Theo?"

Alvin stopped eating for a second, "Well there are two possibilities of where he is. He can be asleep at the girls' house or he can still be wandering the town with Eleanor. I don't think that we need to call him in either instance."

"You're probably right, as much as I hate to admit it," Alvin laughed at this response. They continued eating and about five minutes later they heard the front door open.

Alvin looked up, "Dave?"

"No, it's Theo."

"Oh hey Theo, it's nice to see you again," Simon sounded very dry. Theodore sat down at the table with them and grabbed some of the breakfast previous laid out.

"What did you two do last night?"

"Me and Ellie? We went to Silver Lake and checked out some of the new bands on the scene. It was surprising to see that anyone was playing on Christmas Day. Oh yeah, while we were there we got invited to a party downtown on New Year's Eve."

"Do we know who's throwing it?" Simon looked skeptical, but Alvin looked excited.

"The lead singer from Leon Goes to the Grocery Store is throwing it but it's not at his place. Remember him? We played at the same venues for a while."

Alvin got up and grabbed the newspaper, "That sounds like a good time. Where is it at?"

"It's being held at some guy's house. I have the address of the place it's at; it's somewhere in Silver Lake."

Alvin was now thoroughly entrenched in the newspaper," Silver lake it is then! Who all is going to be there? Anyone we know?"

"Just people on the music scene, there will be a live band playing and we're now officially on the list."

"Who's all included in 'we'?" Alvin said as he put down the paper.

"It really depends on who all wants to go. We and the girls all have invites available, but Eleanor and I are the only ones on the list."

"What's the cover then?"

"Eh, it's like ten bucks."

Simon got up and put his dishes away, "Well, if I have nothing else to do on NYE then I'll go, but I'm not as well versed in the music scene here in Hollywood. I just won't know anybody outside of you two and the girls if they go," he walked into the other room.

"Well Simon might be less than enthused, but I'm really excited," Alvin stood up and put his dishes away. Theodore finished as well and followed his lead.

"Alvin, are you sure you will be able to go if Brittney goes?"

Alvin contemplated this for a while, "I… yes I can. We worked things out and we're both ready to move on."

"Really?" Theodore looked at him skeptically, "You worked out all of your issues?"

Alvin looked away, then back at him, "Absolutely!" He started to step away, "Everything's good between us now."

"Then why don't you too ever talk anymore?" Theodore started to walk with him.

"It's just better to separate for a while afterwards so we can give each other space."

"I guess that's completely reasonable," Theodore looked at him, "You want to go into the city tonight with me and Ellie? We're going to see a show at The Underground, it should be fun."

"That sounds fun, but didn't you two see a show last night?"

"Only like ten minutes of it. There was a reason they were playing on Christmas Day; they sucked."

Alvin laughed, "Cool, I'll be upstairs, and I'll see you tonight."

* * *

That night, Theodore and Alvin drove over to the Miller's house to pick up Eleanor. They approached their old Victorian home, which was in a similar style to their house. It creaked when the wind blew, the ceilings leaked in hard rains regardless of how many times they had it repaired, but they stayed in it regardless of what happened. As they approached the old house, they could feel it breathe in and out with the swaying of the wind. It was as if it was alive.

"I'll give Ellie a call." Theodore grabbed his phone and started to call her.

Alvin closed his phone, "Is there really any need? We're already here; we'll just knock on the door," Theodore reached out to stop Alvin from knocking on the door, but the door opened before he had the chance to knock.

"Hey Theo, and Alvin? I wasn't expecting you tonight." Eleanor had opened the door and began to walk out.

"I hope it's alright that I invited him," Eleanor grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"It's fine, but-"she was interrupted by someone coming outside.

"Ellie, I'm ready to go," Brittney paused for a second, "Hey Theo, Alvin, you two ready for a cool show?"

Theodore got a text from Eleanor, _I'm sorry; I didn't think you were inviting Alvin._

Alvin and Brittney continued to converse about the show, _yeah, we probably should have talked it over, but it seems like they're getting along well enough._

_ It looks like everything will be fine, _after that text, Eleanor put her phone away and she said, "Who's playing tonight, do we know?" She was fully aware of who was playing that night considering her and Theodore organized this whole thing.

Theodore grabbed a flyer out of his pocket, "Hmm, I've never heard of any of these bands," he handed the flyer to Eleanor.

"Let me see," Alvin grabbed it.

"Since when have you been into the Indie scene around here, Alvin?" Brittney was quick to call Alvin on his obvious bluff. It had always been Theodore who was into Indie, especially around Hollywood. It trickled down to Eleanor in a big way until they were both Hipsters, which Brittney always thought was funny.

"I love Indie, Brittney. It's m_y _favorite kind of music," Alvin continued to read the flyer, examining the bands names very carefully.

"Oh really, well then name one band that Theodore didn't play with that's big from this area."

"Uhh, Devendra Banhart, that's one." He barely hesitated, where did all of this knowledge come from? Brittney looked to Theodore, waiting for confirmation. Theodore picked up on this and started to talk.

"Well, technically he's Venezuelan and from Colorado, but he did played here to get his big break," Brittney was pacified by this.

* * *

The ride down to Silver Lake, but it seemed to be the longest trip of any of their lives. There wasn't tension; it was an odd feeling that none of them could put their finger on. It was colder than it should be in Southern California. They had just been on the East Coast, so the change to bitter temperatures here really irked Brittney. She made it well known in the car how she felt.

They arrived at the venue to see a huge crowd waiting on the outside. Roughly 200 people were trying to get in; seeing their first born, giving watches and jewelry, begging, pleading, and hoping for a chance to get in. When they saw this riot scene, they were understandably confused.

"Theo, I thought that you didn't know any of these bands," Brittney said as they got out of the car, "Why would people be clamoring to get in?"

"Maybe it's like a 'Where's Fluffy' kind of thing," Eleanor retorted. Theodore sighed, but then gave a weak smile. He couldn't imagine why he didn't know this band. He had been such a big player on the scene for a long time, and being gone for half a year hurt his knowledge of the local scene.

"It could be, I guess it would have to be. I just can't wait until 'Are you Randy?' shows up instead," they all had a good laugh and walked to the front of the crowd. They were on the list after all; they should have been able to get in. The bouncer looked intimidating; a product of throwing out drunken people and breaking up good times.

"Names?" He was much calmer than he seemed.

"Theo and Alvin Seville, and Brittney and Ellie Miler. We should be on the list."

"Theo and Eleanor, I'm assuming, yeah you two can get in. The other two, you're not on the list."

"They're not on the list, but you should let them in," Eleanor was flirting with disaster with this comment.

"I could, or I could not let any of you in."

Alvin held Eleanor back, "It's alright L, we'll just go do something else. Theo, can you give me the keys?" Theodore threw him the keys, "We can go to another show or something."

"Alvin-," Theodore was stopped by Brittney.

"It's fine, this seems lame anyway," The bouncer laughed at this. Brittney and Alvin got in the car, "Try not to get into too much trouble tonight you two!"

"I could say the same for you two," Eleanor responded. The two went inside, and Alvin and Brittney left.

"Where exactly are we headed, Alvin?" Brittney asked him as she changed the radio station.

"I'm not exactly sure at this point, we could go into Silver Lake, or we could go to a bar or something."

"Oh, we could go to the 4100!"

"That place is a total dive, and I don't really want any PBR tonight."

"Well, it's really cheap. Do you plan on having any money anytime soon because I seem to recall us both being broke."

Alvin paused, "I forgot how stubborn you can be."

"I could say the same about you."

It took them no time to get to the 4100. It was a dive, but it had hipster charm. They stood out like sore thumbs; no scarves, pea coats or parliament cigarettes. They wandered into the hazy scene, hitting the bar first. It was cheap beer night.

"Pabst Blue Ribbon, so good," Alvin said with a sarcastic tone.

"It's 25 cent beer night, don't be mad at what kind it is," Brittney leaned in and talk softly to the bartender, "Two PBRs please."

"Right away, miss."

Alvin looked away, "Wow, Brittney, try not to flirt too hard."

"Oh shut up, it's not like it should matter to you."

Alvin went silent after that. It shouldn't have mattered to him, but it did. The rest of the night went that way. Most of the time, they were separate from each other, talking to the local twenty somethings and slowly forgetting the other one was there. The cheap beer flowed like water, and it was the Nile River that night at the 4100.

"How do you hipsters like PBR? It's way to hoppy," Alvin said as he finished another.

A nameless hipster replied, "I just like it, it's good, man." He paused for a second, "Wait, aren't you Alvin, of The Chipmunks?"

Alvin was taken aback, but he stood up and announced to the bar, "Indeed, I am Alvin of The Chipmunks," He was instantly surrounded by old fans. He was the toast of the bar.

Brittney saw him from the other side of the bar, _I can't believe he would just whore himself out like that, he's been running from his past for years now, but know he embraces it? How ludicrous. _She finished her last beer, _We ought to go before it gets too late, Ellie and Theo will need to get home too. _She sent Eleanor a text asking when they want to get picked up, then she approached Alvin.

"Alvin, we should get a cab and get out of here."

"I don't know, the people love me here. Why would I leave that?"

"Come on, we both need some rest, let's get back home."

"No Brittney," Alvin stood up and confronted her, "Why would I want to go with you when I can be with people that adore me? You would probably just cast me aside like before."

"It's not like that, I didn't cast you aside."

"You didn't? I remember being dumped for… hmm, the reason has escaped me. What was the reason again?"

She smacked him and walked away in tears, "Are you being serious right now? What gives you any right for you to be mad with me? You reaped the consequences of the seeds you sowed."

He stood in shock, and then sat back down, "I guess I'll stay,"

She walked back to the venue that Theodore and Eleanor were at. The night was cold and silent; she felt something cold and wet on her cheek. She looked up, into the night's sky.

"I can't believe it's snowing."

* * *

Theodore and Eleanor made their way through the streaming crowd to get to the bar area, which is vacant enough for them to breathe.

"I wonder why it's so packed today for a show with just local bands. It's never like this," He turned to Eleanor, whose mind was wandering. She looked over to him and smiled.

"What was that?" She had to yell, it was much too loud.

"Just thinking aloud," He started to yell too. The bartender was standing behind them, waiting for orders but not getting any.

"Hey, buddy. If you aren't going to order anything, vacate the bar," the bartender was acting rather unpleasant.

"Alright, but one thing before we go, who's playing here tonight?"

"You don't know? Islands showed up and decided to play a cheap show."

Eleanor turned around, "That's why it's so crazy here tonight."

"Thanks man," Theodore turned to Eleanor, "Do you want anything to drink before we get in that crowd?"

"Sure, Gin and tonic I guess," she smiled and lit a cigarette.

"Interesting choice," he laughed, "Gin and Tonic and a Tecate."

"Interesting choice? You're the one that only drinks Mexican beer."

"I don't only drink Mexican beer. It's just the one you see me drink the most."

The opening band came onto stage and the lights got dim. They were about what would be expected from an opening band, they were good but nobody cared. Islands were what people were here and Eleanor stayed near the back and finished their drinks before getting closer. Theodore led the way through the crowd until they settled in the middle, stage left. Islands came on stage, and they started with some of their older stuff. Eleanor wasn't a big fan, she liked The Unicorns more, but Theodore adored Islands. After the first intermission, the frontman Nick Thornburn, approached the audience.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" He said in a slight French accent. The crowd responded with an amorphous cheer, "Well that's fantastic. I heard that someone from a local band is here tonight. I band that used our most recent album's namesake for their name. When we heard that, we were ecstatic. It's very humbling to have someone respect us by naming themselves after something we made. Is he actually here? If you are just respond at any time."

"Yeah, I'm here," The crowd looked around for a while, trying to put a face to the words spoken. Theodore started to make his way to the stage with Eleanor.

"Ah this is the guy. I give you, the drummer for local favorite Vapours, Theo Seville," Theodore climbed onto the stage and received warm recognition, "He's a pretty good drummer and if J'aime T wasn't here, he would probably tear it up with us."

Theodore was a little embarrassed and he said, "Wow, it's a real honor to be up here, it's kinda surreal in a way."

Nick responded, "it's nice to have you here. I've heard you have a new album coming out?"

"Yeah, I've actually finished mixing it and it drops next week."

"Do you have any copies with you?

"I do actually have two copies here in my coat. One is for someone already so I can't give that away, but I'll give this other one to the first person that asks for it once I get off stage," the venue erupted in cheers and Theodore jumped off stage. As soon as he got off, someone had the album. It was taken, passed or otherwise until most everyone had seen it by the end of the show.

Eleanor helped him down, "Who's the other copy for?" The show began again.

Theodore smiled, "It's for you of course," He pulled it out of the interior pocket of him pea coat.

She laughed, "It's quite an honor to get something from the famous Theodore Seville."

He blushed faintly and then laughed, "enough with that, I'm not famous."

"Just don't forget me when you get big, okay."

He brushed the golden hair from her face, "Never." Time seemed to slow around them as they came together. The heat from the crowd seemed like nothing compared to their love. She pulled away.

"One second, I have a text," She flipped open her phone and read it.

"Who's it from?"

"Brittney, she says they're ready to go when we are," she laughed, "They went to the 4100."

"We'll take a cab there then drive back."

The moved their way through the crowd, the band was just finishing up when they got out of the door. The bracing cold hit them like a wall, something unusual for southern California.

Theodore hailed a cab and helped Eleanor in, "I can't believe it's snowing," she said as they drove off.


	5. Chapter 4: Adoration

Chapter 4- Adoration

The rest of that break skated on smoothly. Alvin and Simon were doing more things together as an attempt to not bother Brittney and Jeanette respectively. They took a trip to San Diego for a few days in an attempt to straighten their thoughts out. Eleanor and Theodore spent most of their days together at the apartment back on campus. They returned a week early without their siblings.

"Eleanor, I don't understand why you are their right now. Is there anyone on campus right now?" Jeanette had been calling Eleanor the last few days out of boredom. Her and Brittney exhausted going out and random hook ups, so they spent the last few days of the break staying at home. The problem with this is that they were easy to bore with just the two of them and Miss Miller. Eleanor started loading Theodore's car up with various things from her apartment.

"Are you carrying things right now? It sound like you're straining with something," Eleanor handed Theodore the phone, who had an open hand at the time.

"Oh hey Jeanette, what's up?" Theodore put down the suitcase and motioned to Eleanor to do the same.

"What are you two doing up there? Are you re arranging our apartment because Brittney wouldn't be too happy with that…" Whenever Jeanette talked about Brittney and defying her will, she trailed off, thinking of what would possibly happen to her if she were to do the aforementioned act.

"Oh no, we're not re arranging anything," Theodore looked at Eleanor in a distressed manor, he wasn't a good liar. She took the phone from him.

"Well, what are you two doing?"

"It's me again, Jeanette. The thing is, well, we're moving my stuff out. Theodore and I got an apartment on 12th street together."

Jeanette went silent, "Wait, you two got an apartment together?"

Theodore grabbed the phone again, "Yeah, well, the thing is, we just needed some space and we thought this would be the best way to do it."

"Were you two planning on telling anyone?" Jeanette seemed hurt; she trailed off after all of her sentences.

Eleanor grabbed the phone and motioned for Theodore to grab the last of her things. He obliged and walked back to the apartment, "It was just never the right time. Everything that had been going on a school and at home; you two just couldn't be bothered."

"Well, not telling us isn't better than making us worry for a week."

"I know, we handled it poorly, but we honestly just didn't know what to tell you."

"You need more space?" she started to raise her voice, something odd for Jeanette," We have plenty of space here.

"You know what I mean, Theo and I have to sneak around all the time to get some alone time. It was just being a bother. Besides that, now you two have much more room now."

"Well, how are we going to pay rent without your contribution?"

"I already paid my year off, you can see it in the statements," Theodore had returned with the last of Eleanor's things, "we'll still be around all the time, we just wanted our own place to with it what we want, you know? It's the first time we've ever been able to have personal identity. It's always been The Chipmunks or The Chipettes with all of us. I want to be known for me now, not just a package deal."

Jeanette started tearing up, but silenced herself, "you make a valid point Ellie. I feel the same way sometimes. I'm still sad that you never told me."

"I'm sorry about that, Jeanette."

"I'll let you off only if you two have us over for dinner as soon as we get back."

Eleanor smiled, "We will."

* * *

Theodore and Eleanor hadn't much heard from their siblings since they left their apartments. Simon had gone abroad to Scotland for the semester, so they only heard from him once or twice a week. Alvin decided to let the contract with their leaseholder expire and he moved into his fraternity house. Brittney and Jeanette got another roommate in Eleanor's leave. Theodore and Eleanor had yet to meet her; all they knew was that she was Brittney's friend from a few classes. They we're both business majors and they worked on mutual assignments frequently previous to the move in. It was a move that just made sense.

Theodore and Eleanor's apartment always smelled of delicious food. Now that they were on their own, they were able to reconnect with their passion for cooking. The release of Theodore's album had brought in enough money for them to afford more of life's pleasures.

It was late on Saturday and Theodore got a call from a fellow band mate, the lead guitarist, Mark, "Theo, we just got a call about album sales."

"How are they doing?"

"They've done down the tank; our manger said that someone leaked the album and now the leak is allowing people to download it off of his website."

"Oh shit."

"Shit is right, Theo. We know you leaked the CD at an Islands concert," Theodore stood silence for a second. A million situations flashed through his mind in less than a second, but he concluded to what will happen.

"Theo, we have to kick you out if we want to keep our contract. You'll continue to receive checks for record sales but… I'm just sorry man," Mark hung up.

A chill went up Theodore's spine, then down his entire body. He stood completely shocked in the dining room. Eleanor was cooking dinner; she didn't notice Theodore for a while. She looked over; he was devastated.

"Teddy, what's going on?" he stood silent and put the phone down. She walked over to him and he sat down at the table.

"I just got kick out of the band for leaking the CD."

"They kicked you out? That's bullshit."

"It's not though, that's what makes it worse. Our sales dropped and they found out why. I became a liability. You know, my Chipmunk fame was what brought the fans originally. They wanted to see my new act. It's like when Kajagoogoo kicked out Limahl," he looked at her, "It's so surreal right now."

"What's next, then?" she sat down with him.

"Well, I pick up the pieces I guess. Maybe start a new band, but I'm not really feeling it right now."

Eleanor grabbed his hand, "how are you feeling?"

"Shocked and betrayed, but it will be fine."

"I guess we'll just focus on school this semester. Want to help me with dinner?"

He stood up and smiled, "That sounds like the perfect solution right now."

* * *

January came and went. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Alvin was back together with Emily, although it wasn't an easy process. The shaky treaty that held them together was a part of her need to be with someone well known and his need to break free from his past. They appeared to be alright on the surface, but their close friends could see right through it.

Around the time they got back together, the heater in Theodore and Eleanor's apartment had broken. They went without heat for the second half of January, and by the beginning of February it still hadn't been turned on. They didn't mind, they just cuddled together in a lover's illusion. It wasn't cold at all when they were together; all outside distractions seemed to melt away when they were together. And they were together, something more than that can be said about their siblings, but that's how it had always been.

"I really can't stand not seeing everyone anymore. I'm a social being, Theo," She came from the kitchen into the living room where he was typing an essay.

"A social being? I would certainly say so," he took his laptop off of his lap and pull her down to him on the couch, "all other things considered, I agree."

"I'll call Alvin, maybe something's going on at the house tonight," Eleanor said this and quickly jumped up and grabbed her phone.

"Good call, I miss the guys and there's always something going down at his house," Theodore checked his phone. It was 6:37, February 3. They had been without heat for 18 days now, "It will be nice to get out of this frigid house."

Eleanor put down the phone, "When is that going to be fixed by the way?"

"The landlord said he would send somebody free of charge as soon as he could. I sent him another e-mail yesterday and he hasn't responded yet. If he doesn't by Monday, I'm going to pay him a visit personally."

Eleanor put grabbed the phone again and hugged Theodore, "Thanks, hopefully it will be soon."

He gave her a short peck, which prompted her to reciprocate. In between exchanges, he said, "It benefits me too, you know," Her phone rang; she stood up and answered it. It was Alvin calling her back.

"Oh hey… yeah it's going really well, we're having a great time…" She went back into the Kitchen. About a second later, Theodore followed her in.

"Teddy baby!" she turned the corner and bumped into him, "Oh! You're right there."

He laughed, "Yeah, I am. What did he say?"

"They're having a Beirut tournament tonight, want to do it?"

"That sounds awesome, if you're alright with carrying the weight of our team."

She laughed, "I only need one cup and I can handle the rest."

He smiled, "I can handle that."

They went over to the house at 9 pm, par Alvin's instructions. The house wasn't as packed as that party they went to before break, but it was still a good crowd. They were greeted by Alvin after they got in.

"Hey guys," He hugged both of them, "How are you two?"

"Fantastic, it's nice to see you again," It was hard to believe how far they drifted in such a short time. Talking to his older brother wasn't as easy as it once was.

Eleanor chimed in, "Where's Emily at?"

"She's home for the weekend with her parents. She lives in DC so it isn't an unreasonable drive," Alvin looked away, "Well, are you two ready for the tournament?"

"It's been too long, I'm not a freshman anymore," said Theodore as he stretched out in a joking manner.

"I just hope I find a partner in time, everyone that's signed up has a partner," he sighed, "I just want to play; it was a long week," Alvin handed off the roster to someone else, presumably a freshman, "I think Brittney and her new roommate are signed up together, you guys should try to find her," he excused himself and walked away.

"I can't even remember what her name is; we've never actually met her in person," Theodore searched his memory for a name after he said this.

"It's Mary; I've met her in person. She's really cool."

"When did you meet her?"

"It was like, three weeks ago. I go there every once and a while after my class on the south side of campus," after she said that, they saw someone fall over on the dance floor. Brittney was standing over the girl. They rushed over to her.

"Oh God, are you alright Mary?"

"Yeah, I just think sprained my ankle," She said it through the pain. It was later discussed that she played field hockey for 6 years and pain was no stranger for her. Overall she was a strong willed person.

"Wait," Eleanor said, "This is about to be some sitcom shit."

"What are you talking about?" Theodore said as he stopped.

"Let me quote what she's going to say," Eleanor turned toward the crowd of people huddled around her, "Brittney, I can't play."

She mirrored her right afterward, "Brittney, I can't play."

"Hmm," Eleanor paused and then said, "Are you sure? I can hold you up!"

"Are you sure, I can hold you up!" Brittney mirrored her too.

Eleanor turned to Theodore and said, "I just need to get back to the apartment and relax, you go ahead and play."

Mary mirrored, "I just need to chill at the apartment."

"Close enough."

Theodore looked stunned, "are our lives that cliché?"

Eleanor turned to him and started walking towards Brittney again, "You know what this means too, right?"

He laughed, "Alvin and Brittney will be partnered in the tournament."

They got to Brittney and helped her up, "The world is conspiring against them," Eleanor said underneath her breath.

"Theo and Ellie, it's been a while. What are you two doing here?"

Theodore helped Mary up, "we're here for the tournament."

Brittney looked distressed, "So was I, but it seems that I can't compete anymore."

Eleanor took her attention off of Mary and looked at Brittney again, "I'm sure there's another person signed up solo that will partner with you."

"Yeah that's probably true," Two frat guys helped Mary up and took her out of the house, Brittney yelled after them, "Don't hurt her anymore than she already is."

An anonymous voice announced to the crowd, "Hey check out the roster to see where and when you play. The tables are numbered, so find your number and get ready to play."

The three walked over to the table with the roster, the guy at the table handed them two ping pong balls. Brittney looked at the roster with horror and said, "I have to play with Alvin."

"This is when the laugh track would kick in."

"We really need to invest in a moveable TV show audience, Ellie. If we're going to keep getting into obvious situations like this, it will be an investment."

"Quickly, let's take our savings and invest in TV show audiences."

Theodore and Eleanor continued to indulge themselves in the hilarity of the situation and walked to their table. Alvin approached Brittney.

"Well, this was unexpected," he said to her, "how have you been?"

"You're telling me, and I've been fine thank you," She said despondently.

"You ready to win?" she perked up at hearing this. Alvin and Brittney hadn't had an air of normality in a long time and this was a good way to return it, with a friendly competition. Friendly is the most liberal usage imaginable of course.

"If you can keep up with me," she responded.

* * *

Alvin and Brittney were the perfect team. They were both trying to beat each other as much as the other team, prompting them to do fantastically.

"Brittney, I wasn't aware you knew how to play," Alvin said as he hit his third of the night.

"I was a player in the Pan Hel Olympics for Delta Zeta," She wasn't even looking as she hit her next shot.

"You aren't a DZ."

"Nobody they played against knew that. Rack em up!"

They got approached from behind by Theodore and Eleanor, who were beat in the first round.

"This would be the honeymoon of the sitcom. Set in Tahiti, the young lovers would find themselves in a high stakes game of BP," Theodore said to Eleanor.

"Ah yes, I can see it now. The game would be worth 100,000 Euros a cup. Sink them… or DIE!" She laughed.

Alvin and Brittney looked confused as they finished off another team; Alvin taunted them as Brittney talked to Eleanor and Theodore.

"What have you two been talking about all night?"

("Come on I'm so thirsty. I've been walking in the desert for forty days!")

Eleanor turned to her, "It's nothing really, just a joke about tonight. How are you two doing in the tournament?"

("You two could keep up with us if you were the captain of a Concord jet. It would totally crash too.")

"We're destroying, four rollbacks in a row to finish the game once. I think we're two games out of the finals at this point."

("Are you two wearing dresses under that polo and visor?")

"Well, I hope you two are getting a good buzz going, I know we are," Theodore stumbled a bit, "we're going to head home, later Brittney."

"Later guys, it was nice seeing you too," She turned to Alvin, "You ready for the next game?"

* * *

The night continued in a similar fashion. Their last games were close, only being separated by a cup, but they won in the end. The final match went by in a second, and people started to vacate. Alvin and Brittney went upstairs.

"Now you're the owner of our coveted Lebanese Destroyer trophy," Alvin said as they ascended the stairs.

"I get it, because it's called Beirut," She foaled slightly across the ground.

"Yeah," He helped her up the stairs by mere force of will. They got to his door.

Alvin opened the door, "So…"

"Alvin, I-"He interrupted her. Their lips pressed so hard together it hurt. In that moment all the pain and anger they had shared melted away like the winter's snow. Time seemed to stop as they were together again.

She backed off, "Wait," His faced stayed close to hers, "We shouldn't be doing this; it's a mistake."

"It's a mistake to finally make ours vulnerable to each other? Brittney, we've spent so much time fighting and keeping up a tough front. We could never be close to each other that way. I just want to be with you."

She looked up at him and pulled him into the darkness of the room.


	6. Chapter 5: It is? It is? It is?

Chapter 5 It is? It is? It is?

"I've really missed you Simon, when are you coming back?" Jeanette downloaded Skype at the end of January and used it to talk to Simon every single day. It was hard for them to find time every day given the 6 hour time difference. They would talk for hours usually about nothing, but it didn't matter to either of them. It was nice to see the other person for at least a while in the day.

"I miss you too, Jeanette. Nobody is as smart as you here."

She laughed, "Well, I still haven't found any sort of lab partner to work with that's as good as you. The physics 312 course is really tearing into me without you."

"I know remember to go to the tutoring sessions if you need to."

"That's the problem; they haven't found anyone that can tutor the class."

"Where are the graduate students?"

She laughed, "I don't know, they're all flakes."

He laughed and then paused, "I really should be going. It's 10 pm here and I need to finish an assignment."

"Alright, I'll see you later Simon."

"Goodbye Jeanette," He left the Skype Chat.

"If he only knew how much I love him.

* * *

"Brittney, the thing is Alvin doesn't remember a thing from that night. If he can't remember then it never really happened," Brittney had been spending a large amount of her time since the party at Theodore and Eleanor's apartment.

"I just don't know what to do that this point. He said so many beautiful things that night, well at least from what isn't hazy." Theodore usually kept his distance in these conversations. He didn't like to hear what all happened but the apartment wasn't very big, and, in the end, they would ask for his opinion regardless of how busy he made himself look.

"Theodore?" Brittney called from the other room.

He called from the bedroom, "What's up, Brittney?"

"What do you think about Alvin? What is he thinking?"

"I'm not sure; I haven't talked to him about it yet."

"Why not?"

"Well, we don't exactly bother each other with relationship advice anymore. I mean, we've both done it all before, we don't need affirmation of each other's actions anymore," he walked into the room and sat down with both of them, "if there's something I remember it's that he did want to get back together with you for the longest time after you two broke up. I don't know if he'll admit it, but he still had feelings for you. He's always had feelings for you," He walked back into the bedroom, "I have a paper to finish then I'll start on dinner Ellie. Brittney you're more than welcome to stay."

Brittney physically looked much happier, "I would be happy to stay for dinner."

The rest of that night floated on, the soft aroma of saffron rice filled the room. They tried to eat really well at least once a month. Saffron rice and Salmon was the meal of choice when they ate well. The three of them sat in the living room listening to old records and making small talk after that. The three of them didn't talk about Alvin for the rest of the night. Jeanette and Mary came over after they were off work. They sat together and the snow slowly fell to the ground.

* * *

They ate, and it was fantastic. Theodore had always had an innate ability for cooking. It was nice for them to all be together once a month and actually eat well. They couldn't afford it last month, but the record sales had really helped and Eleanor had been able to get a job this semester. Brittney excused herself, "Hey guys, it was fantastic but I really should go. I have a paper to work on."

Mary looked at her, "The one for our class?"

"Yeah, I've barely started on it. It's going to be an all nighter."

Mary turned back around, "cool, you and I can work on it when I get back."

She walked out the door into the cold and picked up her cell phone. It rang a few times before it was picked up, "Alvin?"

"Hey Brittney, what's going on?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about that night."

"Brittney, we've talked about it so many times I really don't think it matters any more. I don't know what happened, and I don't really care to know."

"Alvin…"

"Brittney, I feel like a broken record. You tossed me aside last year and I don't want to get into it."

"You cheated on me you asshole, of course I didn't keep you around!"

"Brittney, there were extenuating circumstances. We've already gone over it. I didn't want it to happen, it just did."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions Alvin. You may not want to have done it, but it still happened. Regardless of how you feel about it now, you still have to recognize that it happened, something you don't seem to do."

"I ," he paused, "I'm sorry."

She was stunned. She stopped where she was walking and almost dropped the phone. She was expecting to hear some sort of excuse, but he had taken her by quite a bit of surprise.

"I've been an asshole and you don't deserve to be treated like you're the bad guy. I messed up and you deserve better than me."

She started running, "Come over to my house, now. We need to work things out."

* * *

"I guess it's a process."

"It's one that I'm happy I've started at least. Most of the bad blood is gone now but it isn't anywhere close to where we used to be," Alvin had moved back out of the house and into their old apartment and Simon returned early from his semester abroad. Things started returning back to normal. It was Friday the 13th, February. The day before Valentine's day. Simon and Alvin were in their house; Theodore gave them back a couch and they were able to afford the place without him.

Simon got up and put on a Rilo Kiley album, "Well, I'm happy for you I guess," it played behind him. _It's not as if new York City burned to the ground, once you went away. _

"You guess? It's something I've been wanting for so long. If I could just to that point where we could get back together…" _Are we breakin' up? Are we breakin' up? Is there trouble between you and I?_

Simon grabbed them a beer, "Do you think you deserve to have her again?"

Alvin sighed, "No, but I'm trying to find a way to make things right. It's just something we'll have to deal with."

"It's just that, you've cheated so many times before. Can you actually stop? You cheated on your last girlfriend with Brittney while I was gone did you?"

"I did; how did you know that?"

"Jeanette told me of course."

"Okay mister holier than thou, what about you? Are you ever going to get out of this limbo with her?" _Did your heart break enough? Did your heart break enough this time?_

"We've already discussed this, Alvin."

"I know, but what I also know is that Jeanette isn't happy with how things are going. We talk; we're good friends you know." He looked smugly at him and Simon cleaned his glasses. _Betrayal is a thorny crown and you wear it well, just like a king._

"We both understand the situation and we both know what we have to go through to ensure a quality life. The present isn't the only thing that matters and you honestly need to recognize that," _revenge is the saddest thing and honey, I'm afraid to say. You deserved everything._

"I know that the present isn't the only thing that matters mon frère. I think you don't care about it enough," Alvin got in and put another record in, The Cure, greatest hits, "I'm feeling like the Cure right now."

"The Cure? I wasn't aware you were a fan."

"I'm a man of many fancies," Alvin lit up a cigarette, "Hey, do you want to go to a party at the house tonight?"

"A party the day before Valentine's Day? I'm not so sure if that's a good idea; Jeanette and I plan on going out tomorrow."

"Well, we're having out annual Friday the 13th party, and it's the only one of the school year. It's unfortunate timing, but it has to be tonight or we don't do it."

Simon thought for a second, "I'll go, but I doubt I'll drink."

"I'm the sober officer tonight anyway so neither am I."

"I've got to use the restroom," Simon got up and started walking towards it," Well, hopefully we'll all have a good time tonight. Does everyone know about already?"

"Brittney does so I'm sure she told Jeanette and Mary. I'll call Theo though," Simon went into the bathroom.

He called form the bathroom, "Yeah make sure he goes. I haven't seen them since I got back."

Alvin sat in waiting for his brother; he called from the bathroom, "Alvin, I remember you saying something about being really close to Jeanette," he exited the bathroom, "Although I find it comical I don't doubt it. She told me about an encounter you two had at a restaurant; The Cubical I believe it was called. What exactly happened after you left?"

"Oh yeah, that night. I've never really told anyone," Alvin looked steeped in though as he recalled the night.

* * *

Jeanette looked to Alvin, "Was that from Emily?"

"It's Brittney, she wants me to come over," Alvin dashed into the cold night. It was snowing and the roads hadn't been cleared yet. He dredged through the deep snow, trying to get off of Main Street. It was at least a mile walk to the girl's apartment. Every second he thought of all of the scenarios of what could possibly happen that night. The snow dissipated with every step. Alvin got a phone call.

"Hey Theo."

"Hey Alvin, we're about to lock up the apartment, are you sleeping here tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in a while."

"Sounds good, just don't wake us up when you get back or there will be hell to pay."

Alvin laughed, "Alright, I won't. Later bro."

Theodore laughed, "later," he hung up the phone.

Alvin was five minutes away for their house now. Everything ran through his head now. _We haven't talked in ages. I wonder what she could possibly want at this point. I thought we were done. I didn't think we had anything else to talk about. I cheated on her. She dumped me. Plain and simple. We don't need to be doing this anymore; we need to move on. Why am I even going over there? _He stopped walking as soon as he realized this, _Why? Why put myself through whatever is about to happen. _He kept walking. _Well, I'm almost there. It doesn't really matter. We've yelled at each other enough for a life time. Nothing could possibly be as bad as the first night after wards. _He arrived at her doorstep. _It's not too late. _The door opened; it was Brittney. She was holding a box.

"Alvin, it's been a while, but I wanted to give you back all of the things you had given me throughout our relationship," He saw the box and all the emotions started flowing back into his mind. A necklace he gave her when they were seniors. A ridiculous amount of teddy bears lat valentine's day. Cards, love notes, jewelry, everything reminded him how much he missed her.

"Brittney… I can't possibly take this all back."

"This stuff holds too much pain for me, I just don't want it around anymore," The sting of a former love, the feeling when seeing him in another's arms. The pain rushed back to her in an instant. Up until that moment, she had held most of her feelings back. Her eyes welled up.

He instantly recognized her struggle, "Brittney, will you let me come inside and talk with you for a while?"

"Absolutely not," She tried to close the door but he jumped in the way.

"Ah shit, this hurts," his chest was being compressed and his arm crushed, "please, we need to talk," she pushed harder, "I'm not going to leave until we do," she let off the door and opened it again and he feel to the floor.

"Just come on in," she started to walk inside, he collected himself and the box of things she had given him, "do you want some coffee?" she had recollected herself and seemed to more angry than sad.

"I'm fine but thanks anyway," she looked slightly offended; he needed to tread lightly.

She walked back in, "Why shouldn't I just give you back all of the stuff?"

"They were presents; they're yours now not mine."

"Alvin, you're acting ridiculous, just take it."

"I won't, everything in this box," he looked through it, "I thought everything through and I took a lot of time picking out the perfect gift for every occasion."

"Every single one?"

"Yeah," he put the box down.

She picked it up and started looking through it, "well, how about this present," she picked up a bracelet, "what were you thinking when you gave me this?"

He looked at it, "that was junior year for your birthday," he took it from her; "I got it for you after we played in a show in Japan. You were going through your oriental obsession, remember?" she nodded, "it's made from Japanese silver, and," he opened it, "it has your name engraved in it in Japanese characters. I thought it would be the perfect fit for your recent love for all things Japanese."

She looked at it for a while; she hadn't even remembered why it was in Japanese. She picked up another object, "What about this one?"

"Well…" they continued going through everything in the box. Alvin explained everything with a well thought out reason. Minutes turned to hours. Before they knew it, it was 3 am.

"Come to think of it, where are your sisters?"

"Jeanette's pulling an all nighter at the library and Ellie's with Theo."

"Oh okay, I was starting to get worried considering it's so late," he stood up, "I should be going. I have a 9 am tomorrow."

She followed after him, "you could just stay here the night. There are two open beds and we do it enough to you guys as is," she laughed, "I think we sleep there more than you do sometimes."

He put on his jacket, "I'm not sure, I don't think it's that appropriate for me to be here with you alone."

"That's probably true," she grabbed his bag for him, "I'll see you around," she leaned in and gave him a hug. He looked down into her deep blue eyes. They were as full as the ocean, ebbing and flowing with all the feelings of years passed. He leaned in, an eternity in his mind. Their lips met, and everything came back to them in an instant. All of the pain and frustration that was present a few hours ago had melted away and all that matter was the two of them lost in time together.

* * *

"You can assume the rest, I didn't come home, Emily and I broke up and now Brittney and I are friends again."

Simon was still processing the entirety of the story, "well, why didn't you two get back together then?"

He looked down, "she didn't want to get hurt again and still doesn't want to."

"And you and Emily broke up because of that night?"

"Well, there were a lot of problems but yeah that was the straw that broke the metaphorical camel's back."

"So many things make sense now."

"I'm glad I could clear up everything for you," he laughed, "I didn't know you had such a vested interest in my love life."

"Brittney's my friend as she is everyone else's. You've caused her a hard year and we all have been trying to figure out what happened between the two of you that night," he sighed, "It's been affecting all of us; we don't let her know it, but we all worry for her so much."

"Simon showing his soft side, that's something you don't see every day."

"Knock it off Alvin, I'm being serious. You have a great deal to atone for."

"And I'm aware of that and I've been working on it."

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to ride you so hard but it's something that needed to be said at one point."

"Simon, I already have one father I don't need another one here. I handle my problems by myself."

"I know," He got up, "you're my brother and she's my friend. Despite me appearances I care for you two."

"I love you too!"

Simon laughed and walked into the kitchen, Alvin called to him, "Are you ready to go to the party?"

"Sure."


	7. Chapter 6: Green Hills

Chapter 6- The Man from the Green Hills

It smelled like hot coffee in the apartment when Alvin woke up. The aroma was intoxicating, calling him out to the kitchen. He hit the ground and rolled on the floor for a second. Then he realized he wasn't wearing his shirt. He fumbled around the right part of his butt, looking for his wallet and realized he wasn't wearing any pants either.

"What in the world?" he examined his person and looked in the mirror, "how did I get home last night?" he started thinking, _Man, I don't remember a thing after, well I don't even know when. At least Simon is making coffee. _He walked into the kitchen, "Simon?"

"Oh, no Simon here my friend," a mysterious man said from the kitchen. He had a thick Irish accent.

"Wait, who the hell are you?" Alvin ran into the kitchen; a man with a rough beard and unkempt hair was making a pot of coffee. He was standing in his boxers and nothing else, "Ah God, why aren't you wearing clothes?"

"Good mornin' Alvin my boy," he handed him a cup of coffee, "Do you not remember me? Will's the name; you had quite a night last night…" he continued talking but Alvin couldn't understand his accent.

Simon walked out of his room, he was wearing a Dole Kemp '96 campaign pin and was holding a purse, "Thank God you're making coffee; I can't remember a single thing," he noticed Will, "Whoa, who is this?"

Alvin looked at Will, "This is Will, I guess we hung out with him last night."

"Oh yah, we we're running around everywhere…" he kept talking but they weren't able to understand a thing after that.

Alvin looked at him, "Wait, you seem to remember what happened. Can you fill us in?"

Will started talking very quickly and they had no idea what was going on. In between their splitting headaches and their lack of sleep, his words were flying past us.

"… and that's wha' 'appened," he stopped and drank the entire pot of coffee. Simon pulled Alvin aside.

"This guy is absolutely insane," Will started making another pot of coffee, "We need to get him the hell out of the apartment."

"Wait, don't be too hasty. I have no idea where my pants are, which has my wallet and cell phone in it. Also, you have someone's purse and a Dole Kemp campaign pin. I need to get my things and I want to figure out what happened," Alvin finished and Simon turned him around.

"It looks like Theo and Ellie stayed the night here too."

Theodore and Eleanor were both sitting straight up on the couch asleep, wrapped in a blanket. Alvin and Simon walked over to them and nugged Theodore. He wouldn't wake up.

Alvin shook him, "Theo wake up!"

He woke up, "Alvin? What the hell? Why am I at your place?"

Simon chimed in, "We were thinking the same thing."

Theodore started coming more too and he examined his self, "Alright, so where are my clothes?"

"You're completely naked under there?"

"Yeah and so is Ellie," He whispered to her to wake her up, she turned and laid on him, "You guys, I don't remember a thing from last night. Where did we go?"

Will called from the other room, "Oi, Theo! You're awake lad!" he was drinking straight from the pot again, "This guys is the craziest mother…" he trailed off with a thicker accent than ever.

"Wait wait wait, who the hell are you?"

Simon was looking around the room for anything that would lead them to what happened last night, "He's Will, and we're not really sure who he is."

Eleanor woke up, "Hey Theo," she looked under the blanket, "where are my clothes?"

"Probably where mine are."

She was fading back to sleep, "Happy Valentine's Day, Teddy."

"Happy Valentine's day."

* * *

Once they had collected themselves, Simon called everyone together and ran down the situation. Will read the paper in the other room while this was going one; Simon started to talk, "Alright, so there are a few things missing right now. First thing is Alvin's wallet and cell phone."

Alvin chimed in, "We really need to find those things first."

Simon looked annoyed, "thank you Alvin, but yes we do need to find those things. Moving on, Theo and Ellie are also missing their entire outfits from last night. Except for their shoes and whatever was on their person."

Theodore had put on the blanket as a toga and Eleanor was wearing Simon's robe, which was extremely long on her, Theodore then said, "Before we leave, we should really look around the house first to see where things might be."

Simon again looked annoyed, "I've already taken care of that, can people stop interrupting me? Alright, so the only clues we have right now are this Dole Kemp campaign pin and the purse I found, which contained a cell phone. I've been calling people on it, but so far, nobody has picked up. Right now, we need to find a starting point."

Will stumbled in from the other room; he had put on his clothes again and looked only half as crazy as he did before, "A starting point? You should call those two girls that were with you lot last night."

Simon's face lit up, "Two girls? Did you catch their names?"

He walked over to him, "No, but I do know how to figure it out," He grabbed Simon's shirt and pulled it off over his head and turned him around so his back was facing everyone, "They wrote their numbers on your back."

Theodore and Alvin got close and looked at them, Alvin said, "They don't look familiar in the least. They're local though, they didn't leave an area code."

Will chimed in, "Well, that makes sense, considering we went into Philly last nigh'."

Alvin looked scared, "We went into town last night?"

"Yeah, you kept saying we needed to go to all of your favorite bars."

"Alvin, go make a list of all of your favorite bars, Eleanor, look on Facebook for anyone missing a purse. You have the most friends on it so you'll have the large net to throw out. Theodore, call Brittney and Jeanette and ask them if they were with us last night, and I'll go and see where this button came from," Simon said as he ran to his computer. Will was the only one not doing anything; he sat back down at the table and started to read the paper.

* * *

About ten minutes later, they all came back together and shared their information.

"Alright, I found that there was a losing candidate party off campus last night, and that's where the buttons came from. Theodore, what did you find out?"

Theodore picked up a piece of paper where he wrote everything, "Well, Jeanette and Brittney were with us for the beginning of the night, but they left around 10:30 because we were all getting too smashed and they didn't want to take care of us."

"Hilarious. Eleanor, any luck on the internet?"

She looked at Alvin's laptop which she was using, "No, I've got no leads here. None of my friends are posting statuses about missing a purse and nobody has responded to mine about said purse. We should give it more time I think."

"Keep us posted, Alvin, anything yet?"

"Yeah, I've got a list of my favorite bars and a few other ones that I go to on occasion."

"Alright, Alvin, you and I will go into town, Theodore, go grab some clothes for you and Eleanor."

They all started to move, Will stood up too, "Wait Wait Wait, you lot haven't done this very much have you now?"

Simon looked at him perplexed, "What do you mean?"

"I mean pickin' up the pieces after a crazy night. Finding lost things and stuff like that. Well, I have and I'm willing to help my new friends out in this case. I won't tell you exactly how to do this but I will help you out considering I remember everything that happened last night."

Simon got angry, "Why won't you tell us where all of our stuff is?"

"For two reasons, one: you all need to learn how to do this for yourself when I'm not around, and two: I wasn't keeping tabs on you all the time, so I'm not sure where everything is meself."

"Alright, well what do we do first?"

"The two on the couch, you go ahead and go grab new clothes. We don't need two naked people running around and causing great distraction. You me and Alvin will go to the house first and see if we can find your pants," he started putting on his jacket, "If you want to find everything, you best listen to everything I have to tell you."

Theodore got up and left the house and Eleanor waited, looking things up on Alvin's laptop. Will, Alvin and Simon walked out of the house with the purse Simon woke up with. The motley crew got many an odd look as the strolled across campus.

Will talked to them as they walked, "In cases like this, it's best to start where you started the night. Most likely, the first area is where you blacked out and started doing stupid things, so an impression was made."

Simon talked lightly to Alvin, "This guy is really sketchy. Who the hell is he?"

"I don't know I've never met him before. He obviously was at the house last night so he probably knows someone there."

"I hope so; I don't want some random stranger guiding us around the city to our eventual graves. I don't have lunatic stab insurance anymore, Alvin."

He laughed and will turned around to him, "what you two gobs laughin' about?"

Alvin responded, "Oh it's nothing," They arrived at the house and walked in. It was a disaster area. It smelled of stale beer and alcohol, and there was trash everywhere. The pledges were cleaning the house and when they saw Alvin, they went into attention.

"At ease, pledges, " they all continued cleaning, "while your cleaning, I need some help piecing together what happened last night."

A pledge responded, "Brother Alvin, your pants are in the tree in the courtyard. The President has your wallet and cell phone," they ran outside, and, sure enough, Alvin's pants were in the largest tree in the courtyard.

"Well boyo, it seems it's time to climb," Will laughed at the site of Alvin's pants in the tree.

"I'll get a pledge to do it, let's go get my stuff from Jack."

Alvin ran inside, "Hey pledges, first person to get my pants out of the tree earns an iota of respect," he kept walking upstairs to the president's room and walked in, "Jack?"

Jack was the president of the fraternity and he was sitting at his computer, he didn't turn around when Alvin came in, "Hey Alvin, here for your wallet and cell?"

"I am."

"They're on the table. You got pretty crazy last night bro. I almost had to throw you out but you left on your own."

"Do you know where I was headed?"

"You don't remember?" he turned around, "I guess it makes enough sense, you were pretty far gone at that point. You were headed to that off campus party."

"Fantastic, before we go," Alvin grabbed the purse from Simon, "Do you recognize this purse?"

Jack looked at it intensely, "No, sorry man. Where the hell did you get a purse from?"

Simon chimed in, "That's what we're trying to figure out."

He laughed, "Alright, well good luck to the two of you. Sadly there were far too many women at the house last night for me to single out one purse."

They started to walk out, Alvin thanked him and they went downstairs where his pants were waiting for him.

"Here you are, brother Alvin," a pledge said as he gave him the pants.

"Thanks," he grabbed the pants and they walked out of the house.

* * *

"So, Simon, where was this off campus party?" Alvin said as he examined the contents of his previously returned wallet.

"It was on Grant and 12th; it's relatively close to Theo and Ellie's apartment."

"Then we head their next!"

"You two are doing a great job," Will said as he walked behind them, "We're getting every so closer to the ultimate goal."

They walked through the bitter cold, carrying Alvin's lost pants and a purse. They weren't at a loss for weird looks. People would stop walking and stare for a while as the three odd men walked around with a purse.

"How close are we, Simon?" Alvin said, he was getting extremely bored.

"We're about five minutes out of the neighborhood, but we'll probably get there faster than estimated." It was bitterly cold that day, not a good day to be walking around the campus.

"After this, we should stop and get lunch, it's probably about noon now and I still haven't eaten."

Will agreed and Simon nodded in apathy. They walked in silence for a while after that, nobody really had anything to say at that point. They approached the house and knocked on the door. Someone came and opened the door.

"Can I help you guys?"

Alvin stepped forward, "Hey, uh, well we were at the party here last night and we're looking for two sets of clothes."

"I don't know about that, but you guys were the buyers, weren't you?"

Simon looked surprised, "Buyers of what?"

"Follow me," he took them around back of the house. They went to the garage and it was bare outside from an old car.

"You guys bought the Daewoo Lanos! Obviously you were too drunk to drive so you said you would come back today to grab it," he threw them the keys, "Enjoy, I never thought I would be able to get rid of it. It runs fine; it just has a problem with the fan belt some times."

Simon pulled Alvin aside and will was laughing, "We bought a car Alvin? With what money?"

"I'm not sure; we probably just dipped into our savings. We still have a good amount of money from record sales and touring. Think of it this way, we did really need a car."

Simon looked at him sternly, "We didn't need a Daewoo Lanos!" he looked at it closely, "Well, it doesn't seem to be in terrible shape."

"Exactly, look on the bright side of things. We now have a car to get into Philly and we have a car for whatever we want! It works out well."

Alvin took the keys from Simon and Will grabbed shotgun, "So we don't have any leads on the clothes besides the possibility of finding them at the bars, but that seems to be completely illogical," Simon said as they started to drive away. He got a phone call, "Hello?"

"Hey Simon, it's Theo."

"Hey Theodore, what's going on?"

"I found our clothes at our apartment, I'm not sure how we got back to your apartment but everything was here. Eleanor also found a lead on the owner of the purse. She told me to tell you to give her a cal land she would relay the information to you."

"Thanks Theodore, I'll see you later," Simon hung up and started to call Eleanor.

Alvin looked at him in the rear view mirror, "Who was that?"

"That was Theodore and he found their clothes, now I'm calling Eleanor who has a lead on the owner of our mystery purse."

"Then there's no need to go to the bars," Alvin turned the car around and they started heading into campus. Eleanor picked up her phone.

"Hey Simon, I'm assuming Theodore got a hold of you?"

"You assumed correctly. What do you have to tell me?"

"Well, one of the girls in my English 217 class responded to my status with a description similar to the purse you have."

"Fantastic, where is she at?"

"She said she's at the Union on the third floor waiting for you guys."

"Alright, tell her we're leaving and heading towards her position," he hung up the phone and looked up to Alvin, "Alvin, we need to go to the Union. On the third floor, a girl is waiting for us for her purse."

"Cool, I'll turn around," they headed turned around and headed to the interior of the campus. The Union was a short drive away, "We can finally finish this."

* * *

They parked at the Union's front gate and they all ran in. Will lagged behind and allowed them to get far away from him. Simon and Alvin ran up three flights of stairs and got to the common room on the third floor. Simon called Eleanor.

"Eleanor, what was the girl's name?"

"It's Meghan, she's blonde and average height."

"Thanks Eleanor, I think I see her now."

They ran over to a young woman sitting at on a couch reading a book, "Meghan?" Simon asked her.

"Simon? Do you have my purse?"

He handed it to her, "I believe so."

She stood up and hugged him, "Thank you so much! I was freaking out when I only had my wallet and no purse."

Alvin looked at her, "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did we meet you?"

"Oh well, you guys came to McLarren's with another guy and we all started taking shots together. I asked you to hold my purse Simon when we went to another bar, but I got a call from one of my friends and left without it. Do you two not remember?"

"Not a thing," Simon said.

She looked around them and asked, "Where's the other guy that was with you? I think his name was Will."

They turned around; he wasn't in sight.

Simon took off his glasses and cleaned them, "Where did he go?"

"I guess he took off," Meghan started to walk away.

"Well thanks you two, I really appreciate it.

* * *

Simon and Alvin discussed for the rest of the walk back to their car where the mysterious man had disappeared to. Many theories surfaced but they were both just happy to be rid of him. They got to the Daewoo and found a note under the windshield wiper.

Simon picked it up, "It is from Will," he proceeded to read it.

_Alvin and Simon, I'm very proud of you two, you both didn't need my help as you both deciphered the clues and tracked everything down. I hope you've both learned something, and won't drink as much next time. Will. P.S. I took some money from your house for my services._

"He's gone," Simon said, "Who the hell was he?"

"I don't really care at this point, I'm just mad he took some of our money."


	8. Chapter 7: Sanctify

Chapter 7: Sanctify

The rest of the day was spent recollecting themselves and getting ready for Valentine's Day activities. Theodore and Eleanor were prepared to go out that night, Jeanette and Simon we're going to stay in that night. Alvin and Brittney on the other hand weren't doing anything. Alvin went to stay at the house for the night so Simon and Brittney would have that apartment alone for the night. Mary, Brittney's other roommate, had gone off back home to be with her boyfriend. Brittney was alone at the house talking to Alvin on the internet. Their camera wasn't working, so skype was out of the question. Instead, they turned to Aim, something neither of them had used in quite a while.

"I think we should go do something tonight. You guys may have already gone on an adventure today, but I've been stuck at home the entire time."

"I understand that, but I'm so tired from this whole thing that I just want to stay here tonight. Please, don't suggest drinking either. I just can't handle that right now."

"I assumed so; anyway, drink on Valentine's Day just seems really depressing. Who goes out to the bar on Valentine's Day?"

He laughed, "I feel the same way. I guess we can just hang out. Do you want to come over? We can listen to music or something."

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll be over soon."

"I can come pick you up in my brand new Daewoo Lanos."

She laughed, "I forgot that you bought that car last night. Thanks, I'll see you in a bit."

Alvin ran out of the house and climbed into his car. The drive over to her house was fast; the car never had a chance to warm up. The Daewoo wasn't a bad car; it just needed a little work. She walked up to her apartment; it was a few flights up. He knocked on the door, Brittney answered.

"Hey come on in," She turned around and he followed.

"I like the small changes; it opens up the room in a big way."

"I agree, it has a lot more room," She sat down on the couch and he followed, "What do you want to listen to?"

"Oh I've been on a real Beirut tear recently. Do you have The Flying Club Cup album?"

"Yeah, I just got it back from Ellie a few days ago. It's a really good album; I love the song Nantes."

"As do I,"

She looked at him and said jokingly, "We dream to die?"

"We dream tonight," Alvin laughed, "Elephant Gun, not on the album, but a good song none the less."

They sat in the soft light of the room and listened to music, reminisced about shows they had gone to together, laughed about old stories, and talked about their friends. They both had so much in common; their music tastes were very similar. They listened to full albums and burned incense. The night was getting later and later, but time was nothing.

"It's gotten late," Alvin said as he got up, "I have to fraternity things in the morning, so I really should be leaving."

She got up after him, "Yeah I have things to do also," he got to the door and turned around.

"I'll see you around, Brittney," he leaned in and hugged her.

"Yeah, of course. We can never seem to be rid of each other at least."

"Yeah," he walked out of the door and she walked back to the couch. She laid down and turned on another record. She thought to herself, _At least tonight wasn't a total bust._

_

* * *

_

Simon and Jeanette were locked in a lover's embrace that they hadn't had for a while. Between their work and Alvin's constant presence, they were at a loss for alone time. Exploring and delving into each other's passion, it was a time for the two of them. It was a time they would soon forget.

"I've missed you quite a bit, Jeanette. I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. I've been so overworked-" she interrupted him with a kiss. They weren't accustomed to this; usually they were both so reserved when they were together. The passion that had been building up between them erupted. His heart began to beat for the first time.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'll wait for you. I'll always wait for you."

"I don't know what I've done to deserve someone like you. I feel so useless when it comes to you. I constantly fail you but you're always so forgiving. Why Jeanette? You could get some guy that deserves you so much more than I do."

"It's because I love you and I know what you're going through for our futures."

"It's not good enough, I should be doing more."

"You don't always have to do more. I like us, I like what we do together and I like where we are."

"Thank you so much. I love you too."

She was taken aback by this. She wasn't used to Simon showing his real emotions. He was logical, driven and prepared. He wasn't the type to allow his emotions out. He's never said it before, but she always thought he felt that emotions were distracting. He would never say that before.

"I think that you should follow me," she led him back to his room, "I want to show you that you do deserve me."

He laughed as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the farthest room back in the apartment. The swirling darkness spiraled in as they approached their destination. They arrived in the moon filled room, and got lost in time.

* * *

Eleanor and Theodore were enjoying the finer things in life of the first time in a while. Theodore had gone all out and made reservations at Le Bec Fin. The cost of this alone was completely staggering, but he spared no expense in treating her. She who had been a constant source of inspiration in his life, deserved to be treated well. He wanted to provide her with the night of a life time; he felt a small box in his pocket and looked into her eyes.

"Ellie, it's so wonderful to be with you tonight," Theodore poured a glass of wine for the both of them, "especially after the craziness that was today. A night to never remember, right?" he was rambling.

She laughed, "It certainly was; I wondered what all happened last night."

"I'm not sure I really want to know. Actually, all I want to know was what we were wearing as we went in between out apartment and Alvin's. Were we running around naked?"

"I doubt it; there's no way that we could have been. Someone would have seen us, or we would have been arrested."

"We may have changed or something at our place, put on something else and gone to Alvin's. At Alvin's, we got completely naked again," He laughed at the thought of this.

"At least we were decent enough to cover ourselves up!" They both had a laugh as the waiter arrived with the first course. The meal was in three exquisite courses; they both could appreciate the intricacy of the meal. The flavor playing with them, teasing them, reminding them of everything they loved.

The night was perfect. A light snow was falling but it wasn't cold. The breeze was light, the air smelled of love, perfection, adoration, everything that reminded them of why they were there together. They talked and made small talk with the couples around them. They got invited to tables, had drinks with strangers, posed for pictures, and ate their meal. It was the most expensive meal either of them had ever eaten, but neither of them cared. Time was nothing, money was no object. The weight in Theodore's pocket got more pressing. It got heavier as time passed; his heart was beating faster thinking of it. When he touched it, his thoughts wandered and he remembered everything that was beautiful in the world. Everything that he strived for, would die for, would kill for, would have given everything for, they all danced in his memory. Then, he would look to her, the woman that completed him. Her beauty captivated him; she wore a draped seafoam green dress with white trim. She whitewashed all of his surroundings. The soft music, the perfect lighting, the other revelers, all things of beauty was eclipsed by her. He was hypnotized and focused at the same time.

"You're staring Teddy," she laughed and grabbed his hand that was situated on the table. The hand that held the heaviest object he had ever held before.

"You're beauty was distracting me," Theodore said, as he looked down to her hand on his. She was still able to make him dizzy with the most simple of touches, "Not just now, all the time. I always wonder why you chose me."

"I chose you because of things like that; you make me feel more than I've ever felt before in my life. Everything you do, the person you are, it makes me want to be a better person because of it. I couldn't imagine a life without you Theodore, I wouldn't have comfort or direction or love."

"I couldn't imagine a life without you either. I want to be perfectly complete with you Eleanor," he took his hand from hers revealing a ring, "Will you marry me?"

He looked at the ring he had revealed and started to tear up, "Yes, of course yes. A thousand times, yes!" He put the ring on her finger, which was a tad loose. She got up and rushed to him and their lips met. The restaurant was roaring with the cheers from waiters, customers and just about everyone around them. Their passion burned with the fire of millions of past experiences.

"You know how cliché you are? Valentine's Day at a fancy restaurant? You're lucky I love you so much." She buried herself in his chest.

"I know, I know."

* * *

It was getting closer to midterms; the end of February brought more snow and a decent amount of stress. Simon and Jeanette had been ghosts in their respective apartments. They spent their days and nights studying and performing and experiment that none of them could understand. Something with lasers; that's about as far as it went. Eleanor, a psychology major, couldn't even keep up with terminology. Again, the apartment was abandoned; with Simon gone, Alvin had secluded himself to study most of the time. He was helping around the fraternity house and setting up more rush events, his time was monopolized there and it usually caused him to spend nights crashed out on someone's floor in the house. Theodore had been doing well, his midterms were all essays that he worked on gradually. Between his new job as a student assistant for an English 101 class, and preparing for their summer wedding, he didn't find much time for music. It had left his mind almost completely. Him and Eleanor spent a good portion of their time with Brittney, who helped them find the appropriate people for the wedding. The photographer, florist, catering service, all these things Brittney found.

"Brittney," Eleanor said to Brittney. She, Brittney and Theodore were in their apartment planning the details about the band playing, "I'm not going to get a Journey cover band to play at my wedding."

"Oh come on, it will be awesome."

"Brittney, you are more than welcome to do that at your wedding, but there's no way it's happening here," They were sitting across the tables but it seemed like their faces were so close they could be touching. Theodore just observed quietly as he made dinner and read a text from his most recent essay. He spent most of these nights not trying to fight with them. Until that point, he agreed well enough with Eleanor, so there was no real reason for him to get involved. He just sat back and watched.

Eleanor looked at him, "Theo, do you want a Journey cover band?"

He laughed, "No that seems really lame. I'm not exactly sure what I want. I doubt any of the bands I want to play will be available or willing to play a wedding," Eleanor and Brittney didn't hear anything past his first sentence. They just continued to argue regardless of what he sighed. He just laughed and continued to cook.

"Ellie, if you aren't going to use my advice, I'm just not going to help you."

"Whatever Brittney, I'm not doing the damn Journey cover band."

Brittney stormed out and Eleanor looked stressed at Theodore.

"What's wrong Ellie?"

"Oh it's just so much to be doing. Jeanette has been gone so it's just me and Brittney working on it. She's just so hard to work with at times."

"Well, if you want help, you know I would be more than happy to help. I guess it's my wedding too, right?"

"You really want to help?"

"Want is a strong word. What I want is to see you happy. I'll help you with this in order to do it."

"Thank you Teddy. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Please, how difficult could it be? Have you decided on a location yet?"

"No, you can start on that," She grabbed a pile of different travel magazines, "I've decided different areas I want already so you can make the final choice and I'll be happy with it."

He leafted through the twenty different magazines, "These are your final choices?"

"Yeah, just get me a final choice and we'll do it,"

He sighed and started to look through the first magazine and to finish cooking dinner. He flipped, turned pages, and searched but he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Ellie, this all seems to be far out of our price range."

"My mom is paying for it; she said that all of these places are fine."

"How is she planning on paying for it? Mrs. Miller has had a job in forever."

"She retired and we still have a lot of money saved away in marriage funds from our touring days."

"Oh ok," he started to serve dinner, "we'll be happy to pay for half of it or more if needed you know."

"I know, but we've been putting money away for our weddings for a long time now," she came to the dinner table and sat with him, "it will be alright, we've got more than 50,000 dollars saved away."

"If we both pay for it, some of that money can be used to buy a house or buy you a car. Either way, we're still making a decent amount of money from album sales and name rights. We should really go half on this thing."

"It doesn't matter where it comes from, but if you have the money to go half, you'll have the money to buy us a house or car or something."

"That's true, I just feel bad if we don't help out."

"And I'll feel bad when you buy the house! Regardless, we're feeling bad so let's just feel bad together."

"I can do that," he took their plates, "I have to go write my paper now; I'll make a decision sometime."

He started to type away in their room, and she walked in.

"Teddy, I'm sorry if I've been acting a little crazy."

"Oh no, you haven't been. I was just being stubborn; you're right. Our money will all be in the same place soon so it doesn't matter what order we spend it in."

She walked over and laid on the bed, "It's just that, I want everything to be perfect, and I know you can help, but I have this vision of the wedding that I want."

He turned around, "You remember when we went to Switzerland?"

"Yeah," she laughed, "we climbed and mountain and then played a show at the top. We were such a wreck, but it made some really good buzz."

"Do you want to go back for the wedding?"

She thought about it for a second and smiled, "That is an amazing idea!" she got up and grabbed her laptop, "I'll look up prices and everything right now! Ahhhh, I'm so excited."

He smiled and turned back to his work.

* * *

Jeanette was sitting in her lab alone late the next day; performing an experiment she needed data from for her midterm. It was arduous and she had been working on it for 6 hours straight, aside from two bathroom breaks. She put on her music and started to zone out. Her apparatus started to glow red with heat.

"Jeanette, watch your temperature," a mysterious voice called from the hallway. She didn't hear it, "you're going to get it broken if you keep it that temperature for too long," he turned it down, "hey, are you all there?"

His name was Lucas and he was a senior physics major. They had never worked together before but she had seen him around before. He had well kept blonde hair and Buddy Holly glasses, "Thanks Lucas, I'm not really all here right now."

"I can see that, are you working on your midterm?"

"Yeah it's not giving me the results I'd like. I think I'm going to have to scrap it and start over," She poured over her lab notebook for the reason for her results.

"Do you mind if I look at you experimental design?" She handed it over to him and he looked at the apparatus, "I have an idea, hand me some water and a lens, "She did it, and he inverted the apparatus, "The problem is the focus of the laser is off and it needs to be diluted. This isn't going to be exact; you'll have to get the correct equipment for exact results, but for now this will work," he poured the water on the lens, "put in through here and check out the results after five minutes and it should be much closer."

"How did you think of that?"

"The absorbtion properties of this metal are a bit weird; they work better over an area rather than at high concentrations. Diluting it actually makes it stronger."

_He's brilliant, Simon had never even thought of that, _She thought as they sat there, waiting for the new results, _I didn't think anyone could keep up with Simon when it came to ocular physics but I guess Lucas can. He's smarter than he seems. _

"Look, it's much closer now," he walked to a cabinet and pulled a machine out of it, "This is able to refract lasers and make fields rather than beams, try this next time," she did, and it was working perfectly.

"Thank you so much Lucas, I wouldn't have ever thought about it like that."

"Knowing random chemical properties is the advantage double majoring gives me. Don't worry about, it was just recently discovered," she grabbed her notebook and took down all of the results.

"I haven't seen it yet, who discovered it?"

"It hasn't been published it yet; I did a few weeks ago with Dr. Lemure. It will be in some texts next year though."

"That's amazing; I can't believe something got discovered here by anyone besides Simon!"

He laughed, "Although he's a young upstart, there are still those of us who can perform just as well as him," she got the rest of her information and turned off her machines, "You got everything?"

"I did, thanks to you," she blushed slightly, enough for him to notice at least.

"Now that you're done, I think you deserve a little break. I was about to get coffee, want to come with?"

She was surprised; _It's just coffee, nothing more. Just a shared drink between colleagues. If it's just that, then why can't I help but be nervous?_

_ "_Sure, why not?"


	9. Chapter 8: We are Sleppyheads

Chapter 8: We are Sleepyheads

"It's too dark for us to be awake. What kind of class is held this early?"

"One that you need for your major and one that I need for my minor," Eleanor and Theodore were getting ready for their English 302 class, the last class Eleanor needed for her English minor and one of the last few classes Theodore needed to complete his major, "So we really need to go."

"I understand, my love, but I hate morning classes."

She laughed at his liberal use of ridiculous pet names. Usually he would jokingly called her names, but the use of 'my love' was a bit much for her to handle. "Well. when we get jobs, we'll have to be awake early. Every single day, we'll wake up and go to work."

"Hopefully, I won't be working at a cubicle, and neither will you. I'll write, you'll teach; isn't that the plan?"

"Oh, I would love nothing more than to be a professor, and I know your most recent poem anthology is at the editor's right now, but we need to accept it might not happen."

"Don't say that, we should shot for our dreams then have a fall back. We haven't even tried yet; what's the point of giving up now."

"That's true. Oh, I applied to Notre Dame."

"As did I, hopefully we'll get in. The money they give you will be nice."

She put on her second boot, "Should we drive today?"

"Let's just take the bus, it's cheaper that way."

"Since when did you start caring about money so much?"

He looked at her as they started to leave the house, "I've always cared, but I've never vocalized it. We may be able to live comfortably now, but in the future, that might now be the case."

"You're right, we need to start saving to the eventuality of having a family."

"We need to talk about that too sometime."

"What? Do you not want to have kids?"

"Oh no, I do, but we should decide on how many we want to shoot for. It would be good to get a consensus before hand," they got out of their apartment building and headed towards the bus stop, "I plan on quitting smoking when you get pregnant too."

"I was going to make you. If I can't you can't either!"

He laughed, "But that's a ways away. Right now, let's just enjoy each other," the bus arrived and Eleanor got in.

She looked back to him and jumped out. She turned to the bus driver, "we're good, you can go ahead," she stepped back and whispered to Theodore, "You're right, we should enjoy each other, and how are we to do that by going to class?"

"Sick day in?"

"I think that's a good idea," she grabbed his hand and lead him back to the apartment, they got to the door and their jackets were already off. Shoes followed very quickly, but the door was already unlocked. Eleanor noticed, but her mouth was already preoccupied as they moved into the door. They both gently dropped to the floor. He laid Eleanor down on the clean carpet; her face was perfectly framed by her platinum hair. He was entangled by his love for her. She felt something underneath her back, grabbed it and threw it. It was a shoe they both recognized.

Eleanor pulled away slightly, "That's Brittney's shoe."

"Does she have a key to our apartment?"

"She does, and it would explain why the door was unlocked."

"So she's in the house somewhere," Eleanor got up, "But where? This apartment isn't that big and she better not be in our bed or something," Theodore laughed at this prospect. Brittney had shown up at their apartment in the past after her classes, but never when they weren't there. At least, not to their knowledge. The shower turned on and they rushed over to the bathroom. Eleanor put her ear to the door.

"I can hear her talking," Eleanor turned to Theodore who was right behind her, "Who the hell is she talking to?"

"There's no other sign of other people here, maybe she went crazy," a man's voice perked up and was heard by the two of them.

"Oh what the fuck, she's here with some guy."

Theodore was in deep thought, "I think that was Alvin."

Eleanor gave him a weird look, she didn't agree but they decided to open the door and bust in on them. Slowly, the door opened and they were behind they beige shower curtain. The room was steaming and they could only see one silhouette.

"Alright, get out here."

The two screamed in unison, Eleanor chimed in, "Brittney and what we assume is Alvin, what are you two doing here?"

Alvin cried from in the shower, "Alright, don't be mad you two, we're coming out."

* * *

Alvin and Brittney were sitting on the couch, still wet, in bath towels. They were both completely silent as Eleanor and Theodore were standing above them giving them looks of shock, disgust and confusion. Theodore said, after a long silence, "So, how long have you two been using our house for sex?"

Alvin looked up at his little brother, "Only this once man. We knew you guys would be gone and we wanted to be alone."

Eleanor looked steamed, "That wholly unacceptable, not to mention disgusting! Have sex in your own house!"

"I'm sorry Eleanor; it won't happen again," Brittney was showing real remorse.

"You're right it won't! Give me your key, the both of you."

Theodore was surprised by this, "Whoa, Ellie, don't you think this is a tad drastic?"

"I think it makes perfect sense; they abused the key, now it's gone."

"We don't need to punish them so harshly."

She paused for a moment, "We need to really work on our unity when punishing if we're going to have well behaved kids."

"That's true, let's confer for a second," They talked amongst themselves for a while and then got off subject. Alvin and Brittney sat there confused for a while.

Alvin interrupted them, "Alright, it's all well and good that you can discuss your future plans for children, but let me make it simple for you. Here's my key," he handed his key to Theodore, "Brittney, how about you?"

She looked reluctantly at her purse, "Okay, here it is," She gave hers to Eleanor.

"The real key, please?"

She laughed, "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

Alvin and Brittney changed and they all sat back down together at the dinner table. Theodore had made coffee and they were all enjoying a coffee and a cigarette. Theodore had imported some cloves from Indonesia and they were all enjoying a simple pleasure of a clove. They were talking about nothing important for a while, and then Theodore addressed the Elephant sitting at the table with them.

"So, are you two back together or something?"

They looked at each other, and then they answered in unison, "Kinda?"

"We're not really sure what we want to do right now," Alvin said.

Eleanor gave a distressed look, "But you two continue to have sex?"

Brittney looked at her, "Yeah, everyone has certain needs!"

They all laughed at this except Eleanor, "Oh come off it."

Brittney leaned in, "Well, why were you two here?" she took a drink of her coffee, "I surmise that you two were going to your class, someone said something romantic and you two decided to come back here and go crazy. Everyone just has those times, even you, Ellie."

They were both surprised at the accuracy. Theodore leaned in close to Alvin and whispered, "That's totally what was going to happen," they both smirked at this.

Eleanor hit him in the arm, "I'm not denying that everyone has needs, I was just surprised to see the two of you here. I mean, it's been a rough year for you two; to find the two of you in my shower was kind of surprising if you can believe it."

"It's a very inviting shower," Alvin said jokingly.

Eleanor wasn't becoming progressively less angry, "You two are ridiculous; do you guys have any classes today?"

Brittney finished her coffee and said, "Not today, my Friday's are off."

"As are mine."

"You guys want to just hang out with us today?"

* * *

They all got dressed into something warm and went into Philadelphia to grab some more vinyl and incense. Alvin and Brittney didn't care for incense as much as Theodore and Eleanor did. The head shops were plentiful and the money was overflowing. They went to hubs and looked for new shows and smoked in the cold afternoon. They walked to China Town and got some Chinese food.

"Where's Simon at, Alvin? I haven't seen him for a few days." Theodore said in between bites.

Alvin put down his chopsticks and answered Theodore, "He's been doing some research for the last few days. I don't know; something really intense. He's been out all night, coming back completely tired. I've barely been able to get a word out of him."

"I worry about him sometimes. He works so hard and never seems to get a break."

The food kept coming. Theodore had worked in China Town for a short while as a chef so he was well known among their circles. He was treated like a king there, and this wholly amused him and Eleanor, who got the same treatment through proxy.

"How is it, Mister Seville?" The head chef knew Theodore from his time working there. They were both low level chefs when he was there.

"It's wonderful; you all treat me too well."

Alvin leaned in towards Brittney, "Why is he so famous everywhere? It kinda blows my mind some times."

She responded, "Well, while we were all getting well known on campus, he spent his time in the city. I like how I know more about your brother than you do."

"Oh that's not true," she smirked and he shook his head in disapproval, "I know most everything about him."

Eleanor looked over after the waiter had left, "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing in particular," Alvin responded as he took another drink of his water.

"Are you guys ready to leave?"

They all left and continued their crusade on the town. They went to see a movie, played an impromptu show for passers by, and climbed to the top of a building. It was a day like they used to have last year, excluding Simon and Jeanette. They were both missing in action all the time recently. They looked over the city they loved and heard Park Ave. playing in the background.

Theodore's ears perked up, "Holy holy, is that Park Ave.?"

Eleanor looked to him, "Park Ave.?"

"It was one of Conor Oberst's first bands. They two girls in it are now in Tilly and the Wall. They're indie gods from the Omaha movement in the late 90's. They broke up forever ago though, so I couldn't imagine why they would be playing."

Alvin strained to her it, "It's so faint, how can you tell who it is?"

"I can always here a good band," He started to climb down the building and they all followed him, "Come on, we need to find them before they stop playing."

"How do we know that they're even live right now? It's like 4 pm, who plays a show right now?"Alvin said as he got off of the building. He helped Brittney down and she thanked him.

"It's live, you can tell. The sound quality is all off and the levels are weird. It's not a recording."

He took off in the direction of the sound. They all followed him asking questions that he didn't answer. They ran into strangers, but the music was slowly getting stronger. They got to the art district and his ears were muddled by sounds of a million performances. The bright lights, the lingering smoke, the street performers, they all threw him off. He proceeded to get the top of a building. His movements were impossible; he looked like he had been free running for years. The others couldn't follow as he ran back and forth on the roof, trying to find the direction of the sound.

"He's like a man possessed! I've never seen Theo move that quickly!" Brittney said as she caught her breath.

"There are two reasons Theo would move like this, If there's a band playing that he's wanted to see for a long time, or if there's free food," Alvin said in between breaths, they all laughed at this. Theodore descended from the top of the building, sliding down a fire escape. His Blue scarf flew in the breeze and his green jacket flailed in the afternoon sun. He seemed almost heroic in the sun's light.

"This way," Theodore said as he ran off. The others looked at each other and reluctantly followed him. Their coats and scarves all flew behind them as they rushed to catch up with them. Theodore was dipping through the crowds of people walking on the city sidewalks as if they were nothing. Gracefully, he maneuvered through people and flew in between couples. They were slowly gaining ground on him as they turned a corner and he stopped at a light at the next block.

Alvin was out of breath, "Can we take a quick break?" he was close to death at this point. Theodore stood in intense focus and took off without a word when they were able to walk, "Ellie, he smokes and doesn't work out, how the hell is able to move like this?"

"When Theo wants to get something done, he does it. I've never seen him like this though; I guess he really wants to see Park Ave," She said as they ran through a group of tourists. Theodore was half a block ahead of them. He jumped over a fruit cart and slide underneath two guys moving a couch with ease.

Alvin looked shocked as they ran past the fruit cart, "Did you guys just see that? It was amazing!" The girls didn't respond, they were too out of breath at this point to talk and run. Theodore darted into an alley when traffic was light and they followed him. They climbed a fire escape and got to the top of a building; Theodore had stopped moving. The band was playing at the building across the alley.

Eleanor grabbed him, "Finally," she held on to him very tightly, "we can stop running now, right?"

Theodore smiled, "Yeah, I'm sorry everyone. They never play together anymore and I really wanted to see them I wonder what they're doing together here?" He examined the banner; it was a Conor Oberst super show, profiling the bands he's played with, "They just started playing All Boy Band," he looked to Eleanor who was already dancing, "May I have this dance?"

She jokingly acted surprise, "Why, I thought you would never ask," they started to do a waltz; they had learned a few years ago when touring.

Alvin and Brittney laughed and looked at each other. At this moment, they had never known more of what they wanted and didn't want, and yet, they were still both confused. Alvin whispered to her, "What's the next step from here?"

She smiled, "We just dance," he took her hand and lead her to the dance floor where Theodore and Eleanor we're doing a slow dance to a more mellow song. The sun had started to set and the red orange glow of the light reflected off of the buildings, bathing them all in golden light.

* * *

Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Tilly and the Wall, Park Ave., The Faint, and The Monsters of Folk all played that night and the four of them stayed on that rooftop in the middle of the art district until nightfall. Around ten, they started to head back. They were all captivated by the show they had just witnessed, and as they walked back to Theodore's car, they exchanged stories of great shows and great parties afterwards.

"Do you guys remember going to Columbus to see the Decemberists?"

"Yeah the people were just awful but they put on such an amazing show it didn't matter."

"Oh yeah, for the hazards of love tour."

They were laughing and moving closer to Theodore's car. Someone had suggested to get coffee along the way, so they made their way to a local coffee house that stayed open late. It was only 10:45, but they didn't want to take any chances. It was a ways away, but they didn't mind. The evening was so perfect that they wanted it to linger. They were a few blocks away from the coffee house when something caught Brittney's eye. She looked over and stopped walk, as did everyone else.

"Hey, is that Jeanette over there?" she pointed across the street to a bar. It was a dive; none of them had ever been there.

Alvin caught notice of her, "I think it is her, but I thought Simon was staying in tonight. I guess they decided to go out instead."

Theodore stepped forward and he and Eleanor saw her, he said, "Yeah that's her. I wonder where Simon is."

Alvin got out a piece of gum and started to chew it, "Maybe he's just about to come out of the bar."

"We should try to get her attention, they can come get coffee with us," Brittney said and then shouted, "Jeanette! Jeanette!," They all started to shout but the sounds from the street and bars muffled their calls. A large semi truck passed by and a man appeared with Jeanette after it had passed.

Brittney look perplexed, "Who's that?" Jeanette and her mystery acquaintance started to walk away and he put his arm around her shoulder, Brittney was speechless but she started to walk with them. Alvin soon followed, Theodore and Eleanor whispered amongst themselves.

"What are we going to do, Ellie?"

"I say go with them, if this is nothing then we just look silly. If it is something, then we would be able to control Brittney's certain outburst," They both started walking in silence. Brittney seemed entranced and unaware of what she was doing. She just followed their every move and they others followed her.

After they followed them for a few blocks, Alvin said, "Brittney, we're acting ridiculous. It's probably nothing. I think that guy's Lucas, he's one of her lab partners. You know Jeanette's too timid to tell some jerk to fuck off if he's bothering her." Brittney didn't respond, she just kept following them. She darted into an alleyway and the others followed.

Alvin continued, "What are we doing Brittney? Let's stop and go get coffee," Jeanette started to get into a car after he held the door for her. The two were far away, but they were able to see them kiss.

Brittney finally said something, "It's obviously not nothing."

The two drove away and the four of them stood in shock for a second. A cold breeze blew into the alleyway that they were hiding in; they all lit up and sat down on the ground. It was filthy but they didn't care.

Brittney looked to Alvin, "Where's Simon?"

Alvin responded, "I don't know, probably at the apartment."

"Should we call him?"

"No, we should wait and tell him in the morning."

"Why?"

"Because, this way, we have a chance to talk to Jeanette first."

Brittney stood up and they all followed, "Allow me to talk to her first."

Eleanor looked distressed, "I'm not sure if that's a good idea. You're really emotional right now."

"I know, but," she started to walk away, "She needs to know the consequences of her actions and I feel like I'm the one that's best suited to tell her." Alvin was saddened by this but they had other things to attend to. They all got up and started to walk back to Theodore's car in silence. Brittney shed a few tears and Alvin comforted her, but she pulled away from him.

Theodore looked to Eleanor, "What do you want to do for the rest of the night?"

"Sleep, I've gotten really tired from all of this."


	10. Chapter 9: Broken Hearts

Chapter 9: Broken Hearts Sound Like Broken Glass

Theodore and Eleanor were sleeping in their apartment the next day. The spent most of that day asleep and they both weren't ready to face what could possibly happen when Simon found out what had happened that night before. Brittney was far angrier than anyone had ever seen her before, and Alvin tried to do all he could to calm her down. After a while she would calm down on her own accord but not after a long struggle. The incident had brought up old bad feelings about what happened between the two of them and she wasn't receptive to his aid. Alvin, who was honestly trying his hardest to distract her, started to lose his patience. There was only so much he could handle; he wasn't getting angry with her, just frustrated. His frustration wasn't allowed to vent in fear of the repercussion that he would face after the venting. They all faced their own problems and sooner or later they forgot to tell Simon what had transpired the night previous.

Brittney had left all of her rage behind her but she still didn't want to be with Alvin. He lamented the fact that they had witnessed that fateful kiss. The next night, Alvin had made his way to their apartment.

"Hey Alvin, where've you been?" Simon was calling to his brother from the other room. He was in the kitchen and Alvin wandered in to meet him.

"I've been at Brittney's place," he sat down at the kitchen table and put is head into his arms and started to sleep.

"Whoa, are you really asleep right now?" Alvin didn't respond to the inquisition, "Alvin, wake up, it's only 6 o'clock."

"I'm alright," he said as he lifted his head, "I'm just very tired; I redefine tired right this second."

"Why are you so tired?" he sat down.

"Oh Brittney and I are just going through some things right now."

"Older things?"

"Yeah things from our past, we just are going through the same old nonsense. It's just that, we need to move on for her to heal and she keeps hanging on to the past."

"Well, Alvin, there were some really bad things going on between the two of you for a while. She's still hurting I'm sure. It's not going to be easy to heal from a hurt that deep." Simon went and put on a Silversun Pickups Vinyl, "I mean, look at it from her perspective. She might not want to admit it, but she loves you very deeply and when your confidence is so profoundly broken the only way to cope is to hang on. The problem is she's not thinking all too rationally, but, in this case, rationality isn't the best choice. "

Alvin went from the kitchen into the living room where Simon was, "Is this the new album."

"No it's Carnavas," Simon looked at his brother while he sat down, "Well, what are you going to do about the whole situation?"

"We'll continue to work it out and I'll be with her to get through the pain I've caused," Alvin walked away, "that's the least I owe her."

Simon looked over to his brother. He had matured so rapidly the last few years. The Alvin he knew in high school was completely changed, and they had gotten along better than they had ever before, "I'm proud of you, Alvin."

He laughed, "There's nothing to really be proud of. It's honestly what should be done and I'll take the blame. My actions were what cause all these problems, inebriated or otherwise."

* * *

Alvin and Brittney slowly stopped seeing each other and decided to take a break. The schism that had happened a year ago had made a lasting impression and they were both worried about their happiness thereafter. It was unspoken but they understood that it wasn't going to work for quite a while. Theodore and Eleanor had almost completely forgotten what happened that night in the city and they were throwing themselves into wedding planning. Jeanette was nowhere to be found, he excuse was that she was working on a project and needed time alone to finish it. Nobody believed that for a second, even Simon who didn't know about the altercation that had passed nights ago. It was the end of March and it started to get slowly warmer. The trees were budding and the grass returned to a healthy green. Weeds started to grow and were quickly dispatched when anyone realized they were there.

"Hey Alvin, I'm really bored, do you want to hang out together tonight?"

Brittney had called Alvin for the first time in weeks. He didn't realize how long it had been until she called him again, but for whatever reason, it didn't bother him that they weren't talking, "I have a paper due tomorrow so if I finish it I'll come out with you," he paused and continued, "Where do you want to go?"

She lingered. Their conversations had become stunted and stale. It was like their friendship was charred at the edges, "Anywhere really, we could go find a show or something."

A breeze drifted into Alvin's room as he sat at his desk, "Do you know of anything going on?"

"I'm not sure, I can ask Mary but she's been sort of distant these days. Something happened with her family and she doesn't want to talk about it. Anyway, I think I'll just get on the internet and check the venues."

"Alright, sounds good. I'll talk to you later," he hung up and continued to work. Simon walked into his room and laid on Alvin's bed.

"Was that Brittney?" he asked.

"It was, we're planning on going to a show tonight if you want to come."

Simon sat up and sat on the edge of the bed, "I'm going out with Jeanette tonight actually. I haven't seen her recently so it will be nice."

"Where has she been?"

He got up and started to walk out of the room, "I'm not sure," the white rug that lay atop their hardwood floor slid underneath his feet, "she's been really busy lately and I haven't disturbed her as a result," he went into the kitchen and grabbed his laptop and sat back down on Alvin's bed and got onto the internet, "Honestly, she's been rather distant lately and I can't understand why."

Alvin considered all possible outlets of what he could do at this point. _Should I tell him? He's obviously going to realize it sooner or later and we can just get it now. I just don't feel right about it; it's not my place to tell. _

"It's about time for me to leave, I'll see you later Alvin."

Simon left before Alvin could get another word in edgewise.

* * *

"Theodore, did you call the reception hall?" Eleanor and Theodore had been working on their wedding plans for the last couple of days with Dave and Mrs. Miller on the phone. That night, it was only two of them in their apartment.

"I did, their statement is on the table," they were both sitting on the floor in their living room with phone books and magazines sprawled out around them. Eleanor was constantly on the phone making calls to the appropriate people. She tried to get up, but slipped on a magazine and fell backwards. Theodore, who was in the bedroom getting the statement, rushed in to help her up, "Are you alright, Ellie?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," She helped herself up and straightened her clothes out, "Actually that really hurt." She sat back down immediately after she fell. Theodore grabbed her arm and steadied her back.

"Eleanor, sit down for a while," He sat down with her, still steadying her back.

"You never call me by my full name, you must be really worried."

"Well, of course I am, I thought you were going to pass out."

"I'm fine; I've just felt a little nauseous lately," she stood up and he looked worried but stood up after her.

"Nauseous?"

"Just in the mornings after I get up, but it passes after my first class."

He looked grim, "Just in the mornings? Have you had your period yet this month?"

She shook her head no.

The pharmacy was a short walk from their apartment. The walk was the longest of his life. The warm breezes of the spring flew around him and ruffled his hair about. Passing cars, people walking by, all noise was drowned out as his worry and determination skewed his focus. He walked into the store and headed back to the pharmacist.

"I'll need a pregnancy test, one that's highly accurate and fast if you will. Trust me, money isn't an object."

* * *

The streets stood still as Simon waited outside an old theatre. It was the best place to find independent films, so naturally, he and Jeanette made pilgrimage to it often. He had taken Alvin's Daewoo Lanos, and now he was waiting on her. She, who has been tormenting him silently lately, was very late. He called her, no response. He sent her a text. Chagrin, forlorn, emotions he hadn't felt for a while were coming to the surface. He pulled out a cigarette and started to take a drag. _It's been a while, _he thought,_ since I've been this distressed_.

The time passed slowly, and Simon got more worried. She wasn't responding to him at all, and it was getting later. He tried to get into contact with anyone who would know her whereabouts. Alvin, the only one who answered at the time, couldn't pass him any information.

"Are you sure she was supposed to meet you tonight?"

"Yes. The text is very clear."

"Well, I don't know what to do," Alvin turned to Brittney. They were in transit to a show they had wanted to see for a while. The car was playing Careful by Guster. Simon could hear the song in the phone, "should we tell him?"

"We still haven't been able to get in contact with Brittney yet," she said as she pulled out her phone, "it needs to be addressed but I need to talk to her first."

While Brittney dialed the number Alvin continued to talk to Simon, "What are you up to now?"

"Are you talking to me again or Brittney?"

"How did you know I'm with Brittney?"

"Please Alvin," Simon sighed. He would have imagined that his brother would have realized that he was able to tell that he was talking to someone else, "Who else would you be with right now?"

"That true," Alvin spaced out as Brittney called Jeanette. She didn't answer. Alvin looked over to Brittney in the passenger's seat and the look on her face explained the whole situation, "So, what are you doing?" The music in the background was loud, loud enough for Simon to hear.

"I'm just walking down 62nd street now. Really, I'm not sure where I'm going."

"Are you alright?" Alvin said, the music was blaring, _I'll be the one to tell, Careful or you'll hurt yourself._

"Please turn down the music," _You're in your head, you're all turned around in it._

"I'm sorry," _I'll just lie, lie, lie, they'll adore you, "_We'll come and get you, we three can hang out tonight."

Simon continued to walk without answering_, __all you want to see is make believe it's nothing__  
__but way down underneath_, "Yeah that sounds fine, I'll meet you guys on 52nd street." Simon started to cross the street.

"Alright man, that sounds good," Simon didn't answer, "Simon?" He had lowered the phone, but the music was still loud out of his phone. Simon caught the sight of Jeanette standing outside of a restaurant_, I'll be the one to tell__careful or you'll hurt yourself__gonna try, try, try, 'till the morning comes_.  
He was exuberant. All ill feelings he has were lost by the sight of the one he loved. He got across the street and she started to walk away into a nearby parking garage. He ran for her, calling her name but the sounds of the city were overpowering his voice. The cars honked and the people yelled. Music was being played on the street which smelled of fried food. Broken glass was littered everywhere but he continued to run. She had disappeared into the garage and he chased after her, forever calling her name. Alvin hung up his phone but Simon didn't notice. He got to the first floor and saw her on the other side of the garage next to a black car. He slowed down and called her name but she didn't hear him. He saw a man step out of the driver's seat and embrace her. He ran closer and stopped. They kissed and he was frozen. The feeling had left his body as he saw them embrace. He dropped his phone cracking the glass screen. He thought to himself, _Broken glass… it sounds like something I know now.

* * *

_

Theodore returned back to their apartment as Eleanor was sitting at the table. She rushed over to him in a frenzy.

"Theodore, did you get the test?"

"I did," he took it out of the bag and she grabbed in away from him.

"Alright, I'll be back," she turned away from him and headed toward the bathroom. He grabbed her from behind and hugged her. His arms wrapped around her didn't offer either of them any sort of solace this time. She turned around and hugged him and they stood their motionless for what seemed like hours. They realized the gravity of the situation and they swayed under the current of what was to come if that test was to be positive, "Theo, how long does it take?"

"A minute for accurate results." She head this and turned back around and started to walk towards the bathroom. He watched as she walked away and turned the corner near their room and the bathroom in their apartment. It was fifty feet and fifty miles away.

He paced outside of the bathroom in wait for her. She wasn't making a single word as she sat inside the bathroom. Eleanor was a complete wreck as she waited for the results, but she refused to show it. Every second that passed was the longest one that ever happened. Neither of them had a watch on them. Theodore could stand to wait away from her and decided to enter the bathroom. She stood over the test that was sitting on the sink and he stood behind her in wait. The sweat dripped off of his face and landed on the counter. Their senses seemed heightened; the sound of the drop of water was loud and booming.

The minute passed but neither of them wanted to look. The agony of not know was not nearly as bad as finding out. Eleanor, without looking grabbed it and put her hand over the screen.

"Theo, you read it."

"Me? It's inside you!"

"It wouldn't have happened if you wouldn't have done this to me!"

"Whoa, it's a two way street here. If you egg wasn't so receptive to me then this wouldn't have happened."

"Now don't go blaming my eggs."

"Oh I will," she flashed it in front of his eyes while he was finishing his sentence.

"Well?"

He sunk to the ground, "You're not pregnant."

She jumped on top of him and he made an audible "ooff" sound, "thank God."

"Indeed," they sat on the floor for a while and didn't talk, she curled up in his arms and they laid in the cold bathroom holding the pregnancy test that held their fates with them. The warmth of their bodies floated them into later into the night. As they drifted off into sleep, Theodore got a call from Alvin.

"Theo, where are you?" Alvin said frantically. There was panic in his voice and he was short of breath.

"Alvin?" Theodore was still groggy from his short nap, "I'm at home with Ellie." She hadn't woken up yet. She laid peacefully in his lap on the floor of the bathroom.

"Can you two get into the city? Simon's gone and he has my car…" Alvin started to speak so quickly that Theodore couldn't understand his frantic words. They fired out of his mouth like bullets, tear at his ears. Eleanor awoke at this point and looked up at Theodore, who started to get worried too. He motioned to her to get up and they both arose. The bathroom floor was freezing.

"Okay, so you can't get a hold of him?"

"We were talking and then he just stopped and it cut off a moment later."

"Where was he when you two were talking?"

"Uh, 52nd street and I can't remember the other crossroad," Alvin was speeding around the city at dangerous speeds trying to get to the location of his brother.

"Why was he on 52nd street? He never goes there unless for a movie or something."

"He was trying to see a movie with Jeanette. We think he saw her in some dire situation," hearing this, Theodore grabbed his jacket and keys and Eleanor did the same. They started to walk out of the apartment.

"That's not good," they both left the apartment complex and ran to his car. He threw the keys to Eleanor, "You know the west side better than I do. Go to that Indie Theatre on 62nd."

Eleanor caught the keys and got in the driver's seat, "What's going on, Teddy?"

"I'll explain on the way there."

* * *

The two parties slowly converged on the scene of where he was. Theodore and Eleanor naturally started at the movie theatre and moved their way down the streets, scanning each scene carefully in pursuit of Simon. The steam coming from the streets and the darkness severely hampered their progress; they parked in a garage. Alvin and Brittney split up and were on foot around the city, searching for him.

Eleanor got out of the car and Theodore stayed in to call Alvin one more time. She wandered around the parking garage and soon found her way to the top of the building. It was cold; the height of the building lent itself to a cool cross breeze. She zipped up her jacket and looked around. There were a few cars at this top level but not much else. It was dark; the light of the city didn't illuminate the top of the garage.

"Simon?" she cried out in to the darkness of the night, "are you here?"

She heard a voice out in the distance, "so close to the edge we stand here tonight, are we my dear?"

She walked out into the darkness. She could barely see anything out in front for her, "Is that you?"

"Eleanor, it is me." She walked slowly out towards the edge of the garage and she could see his outline on the other side of the parking garage, "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to get you, "she moved closer to him and she noticed he was sitting on the edge of the parking garage. They were a few stories off as his feet dangled carelessly off of the edge of the building. His scarf flowed in the strong breeze as it faded in and out.

"How did you know where I was?" he stood on the edge of the building.

"We didn't," She was close enough to him to grab him now as he stood facing the city lights.

"Good job then, where are we off to, Eleanor?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, in this life, where are we going?"

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about."

"We wander and meander these mean streets for once glimpse of truth and love and we find nothing but the cold asphalt. Where are we my dear? We are one step away from the edge at all times," he turned about carelessly to face her, "I see that clearly now. We sit on the top of this building and it's the same concept. I take one step backwards and I fall into the abyss. We all sit on the edge on a knife with all of our actions, leading us closer to the eventual end. Why fight it now? Everything's all connected and everything hits at once," Theodore walked up the garage and saw Eleanor and Simon on the edge of the building, "The prodigal son returns."

Theodore could hear them, "What do you mean?" Eleanor responded to him.

"The son that seems to have everything going to him right now. Engaged with the one he loves. He knows nothing of standing on the edge and seeing where it leads."

"We just had a pregnancy scare so I wouldn't be too fast to toss him aside."

Simon looked stunned as he sat back down. Theodore ran up to them, "Simon, are you alright?"

"Are you?"

"What are you talking about?" Theodore retorted as he caught his breath.

"Eleanor told me about what happened today."

Theodore paused and looked over at him, "Yeah, I'm fine now. This too shall pass."

"Will it? Do any of our problems magically resolve themselves?"

Theodore was taken aback by this, "You and I both know they don't. We work and we strive to make things right."

"How do we? How can you explain Alvin and Brittney's situation?" He lit a cigarette, "They try so hard but it's never going to work. I tried to give her everything and she decided to disregard it."

Eleanor looked to Theodore who was looking away for an answer. She then said, "Simon, I'm not going to deny that the world isn't perfect but we still try to achieve perfection."

"A goal that's unattainable."

"It is though, maybe the imperfection is the as perfect as it will get."

Simon took a long drag and exhaled, "I choose to disregard that. The absurdity that is in this world is disorienting."

Theodore looked up, "You sound like Kierkergaard."

"Do I?" he started to walk away, "I'm heading out for the night. I'll see you two on the other side."

* * *

Simon eventually made his way back to their apartment but he wasn't the same. The light that once dominated his predisposition was mostly gone. Echoes of his former self were seen when he was in a lab or working on a large research project, but for the most part, he plodded around the house. He drifted back and forth without any passion or determination. He drank coffee and read existentialist works.

Alvin stayed with Simon in his free time. They didn't talk for the first week, in fact, Simon didn't say much to anyone. May approached and Jeanette wasn't heard from aside from a conversation that she and Simon had. He never spoke of it to Alvin or Theodore but they knew for the most part what it was. They knew she had been scheduled to leave that summer for an internship overseas and she probably wanted to break it off before that. She didn't know he already knew what had transpired that night previous.

The summer breezes rolled in and out of the trees as the sunlight played with the newly growing plants. It smelled sweet in the air, sickly sweet. It was a bitter smelling breeze. Simon and Alvin started talking again; mostly about the quickly approaching wedding that was moved to late summer. Simon drifted in and out of existence and Alvin was never as lonely was he was that spring.


	11. Chapter 10: In Doubt

Chapter 10-In Doubt

"I'm not so sure about this arrangement."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's just not as friendly to our recent situation."

"I know, but there's no way we can accommodate everyone and not set it this way," Theodore and Eleanor were again in their apartment organizing the thoughts in a corporeal form. The carpet was littered with different clippings and cut outs, the tables were covered with yesterday's dishes and books unread. The house was in disarray, but they were far too busy to notice. The preparations for their wedding weren't done and they had a limited time span in which to complete it. They were fast becoming overwhelmed by the mountain of work which they had to deal with.

"I just don't think we can continue to delude ourselves that everything will magically fix itself in two months time," Theodore said to Eleanor. They had to move the wedding to July due to the massive amounts of work they were doing.

"I agree, but I can't see a feasible way to do everything . The situation is far too complicated at this point."

"There's a way."

"Then what?"

"Well, basically, we can put them on two different side of the room, and segregate the two parties like we originally thought to do."

"They're sitting with the wedding party though."

"I know, but I have a feeling if we just keep the bride's maids on one side and the ushers on the other. It will work."

Eleanor sighed, "I guess It will have to."

* * *

Simon as sitting at home playing his acoustic he had recently bought. The past few weeks, he had slowed down his studies and started to focus on music more often under the pseudonym, Les Enfants. He started playing shows as a solo act with a focus on synthesized music. It was interesting and creative, but Alvin saw him slowly spiral downwards.

"Simon, are you going to class today?"

"Why should I? I found out that I officially have enough credits to graduate not including these classes."

"You do?"

Simon put his guitar down and grabbed a notebook, "Yeah, I put them as no counts if my GPA is to drop as a result."

"Are you graduating then?"

Simon sighed, "There's nothing here for me anymore. I'm going to spend this next year focusing on my music and then go to graduate school next year," he got a text message and he picked up his guitar and notebook, "I'm leaving. Just got a call that one of my friends on the circuit in New York needs me to fill in for his band tonight so I should leave now," Simon grabbed his messenger bag, strapped his guitar on his back and started walking out the door.

"It's only noon, I think you have time."

"I'm going to have to take the car," Simon said as he walked out of the door. Alvin ran after him and opened the door as he walked down the stairs.

"No, wait, you can't just take our car," Alvin ran in front of him.

"Why the hell not? You're not going out tonight anyway. Go back to the frat house or something and I'll see you tomorrow," Simon's voice was cold and unfeeling.

"It's not that, you've slowly fallen to the bottom. You disappear for days at a time, with our car."

"Our car? We're still not sure who paid for it."

"It's that! Your attitude has completely changed," as Alvin said that Simon tried to get past him. Alvin stepped in his way again.

"You can fuck off and get the hell out of my way," Alvin was in shock as Simon walked past him and lit a cigarette. The wind was blowing angrily that afternoon. Alvin stood in shock for what seemed to be hours. He got a text, looked at his watch, sighed, and left the apartment complex.

* * *

Spring was in bloom all around him as Alvin walked through campus. Cherry blossom trees were budding, flowers were bloom and it was a mild 67 degrees. Alvin looked down as he walked across campus. People greeted him, but he barely acknowledged anyone. He was deep in thought as he walked around the campus. Through runner and cars, he walked as if nothing was there. He arrived at his final destination some time later. It was a small bagel shop on the busiest street on campus, but it was abandoned. His confidant was sitting at a table at the far end of the dining area. She was looking out the window at the passers by as he walked up to her and sat down.

"Hello, Jeanette."

"Hi, Alvin."

"What is it that you want today?" Alvin's tone was crass and his body language was closed.

"I just need to talk to someone. Brittney has completely left me, Eleanor is busy with Theo all the time and I need not to say the rest," She was restless in her seat. It seemed that everything had finally got her.

"I'm not so sure, Jeanette. You really hurt my brother."

"I don't mean to be rude, but you owe me at this point."

"Are you going to use your favor on this, really?" Alvin sighed and took his coat off.

"I think it's the time to make the both of us even. I helped you, you help me."

"I think you're wasting your time."

"Why is that?"

"Well, I really don't know what I can do to help you right now."

"I don't need help, I just need to talk."

Alvin looked at her and saw the desperation in her eyes, "Alright, what's on your mind, Jeanette?" The sadness that protruded her eyes was something that he hadn't seen in a while. Her deep blue eyes had grayed in a small way, as if they were reflecting her emotion.

"I've become completely isolated as of late. Lucas and I aren't together anymore and I can't talk to anyone anymore. I just can't think straight, I'm rather distraught all of the time. I just… made a mistake and I need your help. You've been where I am now, what should I do?"

"Hell, I don't know," the waiter interrupted them and they ordered their drinks. Coffee, black, "Obviously I didn't do something right. Brittney and I are at the point where we both know that we just can't be together anymore. There's too much pain and suffering involved now. It's all wrapped up in the central fact that I cheated on her and now we just can't get past that. I suggest realizing that now and give up hope on fixing things because there will always be an inkling in the back of Simon's mind saying, 'she cheated on me. She broke my trust. How can I ever forgive her again?'. The same thing happened to Brittney. She could never get past that fact and I don't blame her. I don't see how I ever could," Jeanette could barely contain her remorse at these words, "I'm not trying to distress you; I'm merely trying to be realistic," She looked out the window and sighed. The waiter returned with their drinks and Alvin began to stir his with no real intentions.

Jeanette stared out the window for what seemed to be hours and turned to Alvin, "Can you talk to him for me?"

He sighed, "Of course not. We're adults and as such, should be handling things on our own. If I talk to him it will just be a superficial gesture, and he knows that. If you want to talk to him, then I suggest you do it on your own, on his terms. You haven't seen the polar change in Simon's behavior. He's graduating after this year and leaving to god knows where. I think he's going to take a year off in Chicago or Europe or something that college kids tend to do."

She drank her coffee and looked at Alvin, "I just can't believe I gave in so easily. I love him and I never wanted to hurt him."

"You have an odd way of showing affection."

"Shut up, don't you think I hate myself enough already? And, oddly enough, you and I seem to do the same things my friend."

Alvin looked into his coffee, "at least I let Brittney know what was happening instead of letter her find me at the top of a parking garage when we were supposed to be going out that night. The next day I told her. Why haven't you talked to him yet?"

She finished her coffee, grabbed her wallet and started getting out of her chair, "I'm too afraid to," she threw money onto the table, enough for both of their drinks, and left.

Alvin kept his head down and said to himself, "I know. I'm sorry."

She turned around as if she heard him and gave a weak smile. She turned around and walked into the warm spring night.

* * *

Simon was the closing act of the night. He played his guitar and sang in a heart rending fashion. It was filled with hatred and pain, and not a person in the room wasn't affected. The dimly lit venue was packed with hipsters and art school rejects, sing the songs of his love lost with him. He paid no attention to the admires on as they sat at their tables and drank their drinks. He finished his set with a cover of Of Montreal's My Darling, I've Forgotten and started to pack up. The room slowly vacated until there was but one person sitting at a table near the middle of the room. Simon grabbed his guitar and looked out at the mysterious person waiting at the table.

She lifted her head and said to him, "That was quite a show, Simon."

He squinted past the stage lights to try to catch her face, "Brittney?"

She stood up, "I thought you had given up music in order to care about science."

He got off the stage, "I did, but that doesn't matter as much to me now," they were standing face to face now, "How did you find me?"

"It was easy enough. The internet can tell you amazing things."

"Wait, better yet, how did you get here?"

She laughed, "I just took Theo's car. I told Ellie I needed it and now I'm here," she turned and started walking towards the door, and Simon followed her, "Where are you headed to after this?"

"I'm not sure," he said as he followed closely behind her, "I was invited to a party in the city but I don't really want to sleep there tonight," he grabbed a cigarette and offered her one which she declined.

"No thanks, I'm quitting. You know, you and Alvin are the only people who still smoke."

"Theo and Ellie quit?"

"Yep, a month ago they stopped. That's why I did; I couldn't be out staged by the two of them," Simon laughed at this, "I've been thinking about getting back into the music game. I miss it far too much."

"Are you going solo?"

"That's what I've been grappling with," they started to walk down the street, "I want to start again but I don't know any instrument well enough to go solo. I need to find someone to perform with in order to really get started again."

He laughed, "And that's why you were here tonight."

"Yes, and I like what you do. Would you consider joining together and writing some music?"

Simon looked at her slightly surprised and then smiled and said, "Yeah, I think that would be a," he paused and searched for the right words. It was odd to explain the union they were about to make. He and Brittney had minimal interactions when they were together. For the most part, they were never alone together. Only in the last year had they started hanging out together without Alvin being present, and even then someone else was always there, "fantastic idea to work together."

She smiled, "Let's go back to my place, we can start tonight!"

Simon's thrill went to worry, "Will Jeanette be there?"

"I sincerely doubt it; she's been staying with a friend for a while. It would be bad for her regardless considering my feelings on this whole situation," It went without saying that Brittney was completely on Simon's side when it came to his situation.

They started walking, "I'll meet you there," Simon arrived in his car. Night had already fallen and it had started to get colder thanks to the spring breezes. He got in and started to drive away as Brittney walked to Theodore's car and hopped in.

Brittney thought to herself, _This should be fun, Simon and I have never really hung out together before, _she started her car and started to drive into the cold night.

* * *

Theodore and Eleanor had given up on figuring out what they were going to do concerning the wedding and laid in bed together after getting to know one another in a Biblical sense. They laid without the lights on and started at the ceiling. The warmth of each other reminded them why they were going through all of the trouble to organize the wedding. The window was slightly open, the breeze playing on the moonlight. Fluttering, enchanted, it floated in pale light. Theodore was reluctant to get up, when he heard his cell phone ring, but he answered it.

"Evening, Alvin. What's up?"

"Hey Theo, actually I need to talk to Ellie and I can't get a hold of her," Theodore looked on the ground and saw Ellie's pants with her cell phone in them.

Theodore looked at Ellie and said, "It's for you; It's Alvin."

She looked slightly surprised, "Alright, do you know what he wants?" she said as she took the phone from Theodore.

"I'm not sure," Theodore said as they both sat up in bed.

Eleanor took the phone and put it to her ear, "Alvin? It's Ellie."

"Hello, Ellie, I just have a quick question that I hope you can answer."

"Oh, of course. Go ahead and give it to me."

"It's about Jeanette, have you talked to her recently?"

"Not really, why?"

Alvin sighed, "that's too bad, I just had a conversation, no, rather it was an encounter with her. I was just wondering what you thought she was going to do about the Simon situation."

Eleanor started to look worried, "What do you mean, 'do'? I was under the impression there was nothing to do at this point."

"And there isn't. She asked me for advice and I told her to just forget and move on but she didn't seem satisfied by that," As Alvin asked that, Theodore motioned to Eleanor a questioning face, which she did not reply to, "I have a feeling she's going to confront him tonight, I was just wondering if you knew anything about it."

She was distressed, "I don't I'm sorry."

"Alright," Alvin sighed again, "thanks anyway Ellie, send my love to Theo, okay?"

"I will. I'll talk to you later I guess," she hung up the phone and looked at Theodore.

He asked, "what was that all about?"

"I'm not really sure, Teddy."

* * *

Simon and Brittney had returned to her apartment. Mary wasn't around for the weekend so they were able to be alone while making their new music. Brittney had found a djembe that Eleanor had left behind a few months ago when she had moved away and her and Simon were working on a new song he had composed. It was forlorn with the weight of a lost love, something they both could relate to. It was starting to get late, but they played into the night, working out covers to songs and writing a new one entirely. They stopped about an hour after they started and took a break. They were both euphoric with the high that comes with creating.

"Simon," Brittney said as she was drinking a bottle of water. They were both in the living room sitting opposite each other on a futon and a couch, "this had been just so much fun. I forgot how amazing it is to write music."

Simon looked up from his notebook, in which he was writing lyrics, "It's highly therapeutic. Through this whole mess, I've been able to turn back to my first love."

Brittney tried to look at the notebook but she couldn't catch what he was writing, "I agree, it's been so nice to let it all out in a medium that makes sense, you know?"

"I wholly agree," he kept writing in silence and they sat there together for a while. Her eyes darted around the room awkwardly. The room was completely silent, outside from a moderately noisy house party going on the floor above them. The faint raps of the music sting into the silence, but Simon never lost concentration.

The night continued on, they made music together and had the occasional surprise visitor looking for a party in the apartment complex. They were few and far in between, but they didn't mind. At around 1 am, they got another knock on the door.

Brittney was physically angry at this point, "It's one am, who is going to a party this late?"

Simon stood up and Brittney followed suit, "They were probably heading out from another place. I'm just getting tired of drunk people showing up here tonight. It's really throwing our groove off," they started to walk to the door.

"Well, whoever it is, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind," Simon got to the door and turned around to face Brittney

"That's not very fair," he started to open the door, "whoever it is doesn't need to be yelled at for other people's mistakes," the door was open but Simon was still facing Brittney. She looked surprised, and he turned around to face who was at the door.

"Hello Simon," Jeanette said. Her eyes showed signs of tears and she was gripping her coat tightly.

Brittney looked around and said, "I'm going to leave; you don't need me here," Simon stopped her with his arm and motioned for her to stay.

Simon looked back at Brittney, "Please stay Brittney," he looked back to Jeanette, "I'll be the first to admit that it took some balls to come here. How did you find me?"

Jeanette looked down, "you weren't at your place so I just naturally

Brittney stood in complete paralysis as Simon said, "Well, what the hell do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize…"

"So you thought that weeks after the fact it would be appropriate to apologize?" Brittney moved into the other room.

"It's just that-"

Simon interrupted her, "What? You done with him and now you want to fix things? It's not going to happen."

"I just want us to be friends again."

"Tell me, Jeanette, how long were you sneaking around with him? How long was I the second thought on your mind? How long were you going to torture me?"

She started crying, "I forgave you six years ago! Why can't you give me the same benefit now?"

"Were you living for me back then? Were you planning every day in order to benefit me in the future? Doing projects you hated and working with idiots all the time? I had to dumb myself down for these people in order to kiss some ass and get into the school I needed to next year, but that's all scraped."

"I never told you to live for me! I wanted you to live with me and forget about the future!"

"Forget about the future?" he was stunned by this.

"Yes! All I ever wanted was you now and you wouldn't accept that fact. I couldn't handle it anymore and I know now that things will never be the same. I'm ready to never have you again, but I never did in the first place. Our future was much more important than I was, but all of that doesn't matter now. I want things to be right."

"It's going to be a long time before things are right. They day you see the person you love in the arms of another then we can be right. Until then, that image is burned into my memory," He started to close the door and she didn't fight it. He went back to the living room where Brittney was waiting. She seemed deflated and apathetic. All this was dredging up bad feeling she was grappling with since Alvin did the same to her almost a year ago.

Brittney got close to him as he sat down, "Simon…"

"It's nothing. I'm sorry you had to hear all of that."

"Don't worry about me," she put her arm around him as he slouched over himself, "I know where you're coming from and I understand how difficult it can be."

He clenched his fists tightly, "I just feel like everything I work for doesn't matter sometimes."

"It's not true."

"It is though. In every field I grapple with, nothing seems to turn out as planned."

She grabbed his hand and unclenched it, "Maybe things aren't supposed to happen as we think they are. Mistakes lead to great opportunity."

He looked up to her, a friend he had never really interacted with. They lingered a while, a shared pain between the two of them drawing them together. He brushed the hair from her perfect face, which had become askew during the whole event and leaned in. Their lips met in a fiery burning that melted away the coldness they had been feeling. The anger they shared seemed to alleviate as they kissed that late night. Brittney pulled away.

"I don't know, Simon. What are we doing?"

He looked away, "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking," The record they were listening to earlier started to play again, Devandra Banhart's A Ribbon. _I'd like to sing to you if you'd like me to, I'd like to sing to you if you'd like me to, alone._ She grabbed his face and pulled him back into him.

The music played in the background, _I'd like to dance with you if you'd like me to, I'd like to dance with you if you'd like me to, alone,_ "I decided to not care," she said as she brought his face in again. _And I'd like to sleep with you if you'd like me to, and I'd like to sleep sleep sleep with you alone. _

The night faded into daytime and they stayed together until the sunset of the next day. They shared the experiences that only two injured and damaged souls could together. Near tears and ecstasy floated around in the air as they shared everything they felt together. A breeze rolled into an open window in the living room where they stayed the night; it chilled them, but neither of them seemed to care.


	12. Chapter 11: Awareness is the Option

Chapter 11- Awareness is the Option

Alvin woke up the next day with an odd feeling in his stomach. He wasn't one to believe in superstition, but he was aware that this was no ordinary feeling. The May sunrise was peeking through his room that Sunday; a pale light that he wasn't accustomed to seeing. He wasn't much of a morning person; he stumbled out of his bed and headed toward the kitchen. He looked into Simon's room and he wasn't there. He wasn't quite sure of what to think of this; Simon didn't have much else to go to besides Brittney's apartment and he feared the worse. _Simon must have tried to confront Jeanette after his concert! _He thought, _that possibly lead to disaster, or worse, she took him back. _He pondered his thoughts. Why would he consider that to be a bad thing? They were meant for each other, as he had always thought, but he knew the other side of the argument. Running around with the one you've hurt isn't something that works out usually. He's seen how things are changed and his worry rose again. He went back into his room and grabbed his cell phone. He called Brittney's apartment, but there wasn't an answer. He was worried, but he didn't know what to do. He grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom. He took a shower, changed into his clothes and headed out of the door.

* * *

Eleanor and Theodore decided to take a day off from their usual worrying and spend the day away from each other. They bad locked themselves in their apartment and needed a bit of separation to get their heads straight. Theodore went off to a music store in town to grab the new Spoon album, and Eleanor went to a coffee shop on campus.

She walked a great distance from the house but it was a nice spring morning. The cool breeze was still blowing over the campus, and she was able to feel it in her bones. She was approaching the shop when she heard what she thought was her name being called from across the street. The cars moved by too quickly for her to pick out the caller. Dust was flying everywhere and people were rushing around quickly across the street. A person crossed and waved, but she couldn't tell who it was.

"Ellie-," the faceless man called to her. She shielded her eyes from the morning sun, as he came closer into view.

She squinted and tried to focus on the silhouetted figure but she could tell who it was, he continued to call. Whoever it was he had defeat in his voice, a nonchalant that can't be explained by anything else. She turned around and he caught up with her and put his hand on her shoulder. She was surprised and turned around quickly. It was only Alvin, who was now catching his breath.

"Alvin," she said with shock, "what are you trying to do, kill me?"

"I swear Ellie," he said, "sometimes I think you're completely deaf," he was hunched over, trying to catch his breath, but he lifted his head and smiled after he said that. She laughed slightly and went inside, which he followed her in.

"So, what's going on Alvin," she said as she got in the queue. There were for other people ahead of her, but the shop itself wasn't busy. It was odd; usually the shop would get busy around this time, "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"That's certainly how it seems," he said as he turned away from her.

"Well," she said after a long pause, "how have you been?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't meant to be stand offish. I've been fine; I just woke up today without Simon in the house and I'm kinda in the process of finding him."

Eleanor looked shocked, "he's gone missing then?"

"I wouldn't say all that," he said as he ordered his coffee. Somehow he got ahead of her in the line. He laughed and said, "He just didn't come home last night. It's not something that never happens, it's just that-"

"It only happened when he was with Jeanette,"

"That's just it. I can't imagine what would have happened in New York to make him stay there, so I'm just assuming it happened here."

Eleanor looked away for a second and Alvin drank his coffee as they stood just right of the line, "Do you have any way to contact him?"

Alvin looked to her, "His phone's off, so no. I actually assumed he was at your old place so I called, but nobody answered."

"Why would you assume he was there?"

"Well," Alvin looked back to coffee and took a drink, "I assumed that he would probably try to go make amends with Jeanette. Although he knows that there's no way that it could ever happen, but he doesn't care anymore. He's being irrational, something I've never seen him do. I guess he really likes her or something," Alvin laughed, "Sadly, he won't listen to me, although I know the most about this subject matter. He's just not going to do well if he keeps chasing her. I told him to make a clean break, but he hasn't yet," Alvin was rambling at that point, and Eleanor stopped him.

"Alvin, I'll go with you to my sister's place. We need to solve this thing anyway," She said as she got up, "I couldn't imagine Simon doing anything ridiculous such as this," Eleanor left with Alvin following after her. They walked in silence for the most part across campus.

* * *

Brittney and Simon had gotten up but they hadn't much spoken to each other. Simon stepped onto the balcony and was smoking a cigarette while Brittney was sitting on the couch near the door checking her website. Brittney still maintained their fan website which was, surprisingly, still very active after all of the years of inactivity of the two groups. Brittney wasn't really sure why she did this; it just seemed like the right thing to do after all of these years. She lost herself in her work and Simon stayed outside and texted while she was indoors. He had taken his shirt off in the spring sun, but she hadn't really noticed. When she looked up, she realized he had lost weight. He had always been rather skinny and on the verge of emaciated in years past, now was one of those times he looked emaciated. He didn't look inside the house and she looked away, back to her duties. They went on like this for a while; he slide the glass door that separated them open. The glare from the door was immediately noticed, blinding the room unlike much else. She looked up at him, but she could only see a silhouette.

"That light is blinding, Simon!"

He turned around and closed the curtain, "Oh," he walked over to her and sat down, "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that you were in physical pain."

She laughed, "It's not exactly all that. I just wasn't able to see you."

"I see."

They sat awkwardly together for a period of time, neither of them speaking, until Simon said, "So…"

She looked to him, "Yeah?"

"Are we going to talk about, well, what happened last night?"

She looked slightly disappointed, "I really, hmm," she paused, "what exactly do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," he said, "Where exactly do we go after this? I mean, we can't just pretend that nothing happened, can we?"

She looked to him and held his hand, "I'm not sure that I want to."

"Really? Well, I'm not sure if that's the wisest decision at this point."

"You need to stop thinking about what's wisest thing to do all the time. Think for the moment, and, at this moment, what is your heart telling you?"

He looked away from her, "I'm not sure. The problem is that, my heart and my mind fight an awful lot. I can't just get past what my heart wants without the mind getting in the way. You know me, Brittney. I'm a logical person. My heart is telling me to do what I want, but my mind is telling me that this just might be a mistake," It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she understood what he meant.

"Our hearts tell us often things are brains never want to here. The fact that your heart is saying one thing is good enough for me. Honestly, I could care less what you Brain has to say about the matter."

He laughed and got up, "want something to drink?"

* * *

Eleanor and Alvin continued towards their apartment, which was roughly thirty minutes from where they had started. At this point, they had started talking again.

"Alvin, so what you are saying is that he might have gone to confront Jeanette. Do you honestly think that he would have?" the streets were busy with excitement. People were walking about, entering and leaving stores, and cars were a buzz on the street.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to think of all of this. He could have done so many things. I know it was something that I thought of doing on many occasions when Brittney and I were apart. I'm trying to not rule anything out," Alvin was walking with his head down. This whole situation had affected him deeply and he wasn't feeling the greatest. In fact, he hadn't felt physically well since it happened. He had been coming in and out of illness, usually with nothing more than a cold. He lifted his head and saw someone he recognized, but couldn't put his finger on whom it was. The person was walking away from them slowly.

Eleanor had seemed to read his mind at this point, "Alvin, do you recognize that girl far in front of us? Is that Jeanette?"

Alvin had a moment of clarity, "Oh let's hope. We can settle this thing right here," they started to run forward through a crowd of people, who were less than happy to let them through. They rushed forward, and, luckily her pace was the same. Alvin yelled, "Jeanette?"

The woman turned around to reveal that it was in fact Jeanette, "Alvin? Ellie?" she turned around and started to walk towards them, "whatever are you doing here?"

They both were catching their breath as they got to her and Ellie said, "We were looking for you, actually."

"Why's that?"

Alvin looked at her, "We were just wondering if you had seen Simon." She was able to see through his use of euphemisms.

"Well, actually I have."

Alvin looked immediately disheartened, "Did he, come to your apartment last night?"

"You could say that I guess."

Eleanor interjected, "Usually going or coming to a certain location doesn't illicit an indeterminate response. How is there a gradient here? Did he go to your house or not?"

"No need for the hostility," Jeanette was stoic in her responses, "I know why you two are here. No he didn't come to me crying or any of that bullshit. He was actually at my place when I showed up, and he cast me aside. So please, if you two would excuse me," she started to walk forward, the way she had came.

They both leapt forward, "wait, wait," Alvin said, "Why was he at your apartment?" She shook free and kept walking without responding. Eleanor got in front of her, which made her turn around. Alvin grabbed her and asked her again, "Stop running from us! Is there any reason for you to not tell us what was going on?"

She had tears in her eyes, "I don't fucking know why he was there! Brittney was with him and they were doing something. What that was, I don't know," she started to yell, "so get the fuck out of my way and leave me alone!"

Alvin let go of her and she walked away. He stood in shock and anger as she left; Eleanor ran after her.

Eleanor yelled, "Jeanette, please, we're sorry! Come back!" Jeanette kept walking as Eleanor yelled to her. Eleanor stopped her pursuit as Jeanette got out of sight. Alvin walked up behind Eleanor, who hadn't gotten far before concluding it was useless.

"Ellie, we still have to find Simon and the best place to look would be at Brittney's apartment right now."

She turned around and said, "yeah, you're right. It's for the best I guess, but I have no idea why he would be over there."

They started to walk again, and, again, they were in silence.

* * *

"Simon, do you want to go out or something?"

"What was that?" Simon and Brittney had showered and changed. Simon was the second one in the bathroom and he was still getting ready for the day, although it was mid afternoon. He was in the bathroom at the end of the hallway and he poked his head out, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to go do something."

He stepped out of the bathroom as he put his shirt on, "Yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, I just really want to do something. It's way too boring here."

He laughed at this, "yeah you're right," he sat down with her again. There was a knock at the door. Simon went to get it; it was another tenant of the apartment with a piece of paper in his hand, "hello?"

"Yeah, hey there," Simon had never seen him before, but the visitor was visibly confused to see him there. He was expecting to see someone else, "Uh, I found this notes tapped to your door as I walked past. I'm assuming you may want it."

"What? How long have you had it?"

"I just said, I found it as I walked past, so maybe two minutes, all spent with you," the stranger handed to him and walked away, angry that he had helped another.

Simon walked back into the living room where Brittney was waiting, "Hey, so I found a note of some sort."

Brittney looked up from her computer, "Oh, well, who's it from? Actually, who was at the door too?"

"Just one of your neighbors, he found it on the door and alerted us to its presence. And I'm not sure who it's from, I haven't opened it yet. It's also not addressed to anyone in particular. I would imagine it's for you considering that it's your apartment."

Brittney stood up, "Wait, are you so sure it's for me?"

"Why? Do you think it could be for anyone else in the apartment?"

"Well, it could be for you, from like Jeanette or something."

Simon looked at the letter and pondered this for a second, "Why would she want to contact me at this point?"

"Simon, come on, you know why she would. You two aren't exactly in the best of places and she does want to make it right."

"'Making it right', something we all always want to do but rarely accomplish. It's simply a hollow gesture. Brittney, remember a time you asked someone for assistance in some menial task. We're you really offering your help or just making gesture?"

She looked away in thought, "Well, I guess I was just being nice."

"Don't feel bad about it; everyone does it. The point is, it's just a gesture."

"Gesture or not, I suggest you read it. It is most likely for you."

Simon looked down at the note he held is in hand and looked at her, "I'm not sure if I can."

She grabbed it out of his had, "I can if you need me to," Brittney was always so blatant and abrasive, so much unlike her sisters. She started to open it and Simon grabbed it out of her hand.

"I can handle it," he start to read it and she smiled, "I don't get it."

"What?"

"The note is from Jeanette, so we were right there. She wants me to meet her at some address I've never seen before," he took Brittney's laptop from her, "I'll look it up really quickly."

"Yeah, you can use my laptop."

"It's a house near where Ellie and Theo live. I've never been there though. I wonder why there?"

"Yes yes, it's all a great mystery. What time are you going?"

"Oh wow, it's saying 7 p.m. today. I'll need to leave now," Simon got up and grabbed his coat and Brittney followed.

"I'm coming with you."

"What? No, that would be wholly inappropriate."

"And why is that?"

Simon starting heading towards the door and Brittney got in his way, "Brittney…"

He reached out for the door knob and she stopped him, "Don't pretend like you don't need me right now," Until that point they hadn't had as much of a mention of their personal lives. It was an awkward subject and neither of them wanted to approach it first. Although this comment was indirect, they both knew what the implications were. To admit to this would be to admit to much more. In actuality, Brittney hadn't meant to say it. She was as comfortable as he was with dancing around the issue as much as possible, but, in the heat of the moment, she said it, "Simon, we should really talk about where we go from here, but for now, you know that having me around will make things easier for you."

"Brittney, I'm not sure if they will."

"I understand what you're saying and I want you to forget about it. Having me around with you will kill any chance of you two getting back together, but I suggest that you forget about that entirely. Alvin and I, we went back and forth for months deciding if we wanted to get back together, but, in the end, it was never the same and it will never be the same. You need to realize that and move on. I know, I know that it's going to be difficult, but it's something that you need to do. It's never going to be as it once was, and the sooner you realize that, the less pain you'll be in down the line," she put his hand at his side slowly, "I know I'm being cruel, but it's true."

He interrupted her, "I know, I know, but I'm not trying to get back together with her. It's just that, with you there, it will hurt her. To know that her sister was together with me," he paused for a second to think about what he had just said and he looked to her to gage her reaction. She was looking away and he couldn't see her face. She grabbed her chin and tilted her face towards him. She was looking confused and forlorn. He didn't know what to make of it, "Are we together?"

She paused and grabbed the hand that was on her chin, "I'm not sure. I really don't know how I feel," there was never a real connection between the two of them until the night before. She was confused and didn't know if she really wanted him or not. She looked into his eyes and saw his longing, for what she did not know. She had never really considered him to be anything more than a friend, and they were never great friends until her and Alvin broke up that first time almost a year ago now. She looked up at him, a man she had only gotten to really know the last year after knowing him for thirteen years, "I mean, we've been close but I've never thought of us in a romantic sense until last night," she gauged his reaction for the slightest response, but, as usual, Simon was stoic. She liked that about him at least. He was dependable and consistent and he could be passionate. He was a nice opposite to her, a compliment.

"I know, neither did I, but upon thinking about it, I really do have…" at this he paused. He knew what he wanted to say but he wasn't sure if he should. Brittney looked at him, waiting for the continuation of his sentence. She already knew what he was going to say. Simon looked at her and tried to know what she was thinking but it was to no avail. It's hard to read someone when even they do not know what they want, "I really do have feeling for you. You and I have gone through so many things together over this last year and it's brought us closer but I've never really realized what my heart was trying to say. I'm sorry, that part was really cheesy."

"Don't be. I completely agree," she grabbed his face and their lips met. A breeze blew in from the open window and played at their feet. She broke off, with her face still close to his, "I would like to come with you now, if that's alright."

"Always the stubborn one, aren't you?"

She laughed, "I am, you know that," when she said that, there was a knock at the door, "I wonder who that is?"

"You get it, I'm going to get a quick drink before we leave," Simon said as he walked away.

Brittney reached for the door and grabbed the handle, "Well aren't you the bossy one?"

Simon said from the other room, "Oh, you know I am."

Brittney was facing the opposite direction of the door and opened it. As she did this, she said, "Well Simon, you can sleep at your own place tonight then," she laughed and turned around to face the visitors.

"So, Simon is here then?" Alvin said. Alvin and Eleanor had finally made their way to Brittney's apartment and they were standing at the door.

"Alvin! Ellie!" Brittney said, trying to hide her shock.

Simon called form the other room, "Brittney, you know you want me to spend the night," with a bottle of water in hand, he walked to the door. He wasn't in sight of Alvin and Eleanor until he said, "I'm just far to fun to be with for you to say no!"

Brittney was fighting as hard as she could to fight her terror as Alvin said, "What is going on? Where's Simon."

Simon walked into eyeshot of Alvin and his jubilation quickly went to horror. He said, "Hey Alvin! What's going on?"

Alvin was confused and shocked to see his brother, "We were just looking for you that's all," Alvin nudged Eleanor to try to get her to confirm his claim but she was in too much shock to answer.

"You could have just called me."

Eleanor chimed in, almost waking out of her shock, "Your phone's off."

"Oh well sorry," There was an awkward pause for a second, "how did you know where to find me?"

Alvin was about to say that he saw Jeanette, but he changed his mind, "It was… It was a hunch."

"Well, okay," Simon replied, "Well, we're about to be off."

Eleanor was watching her sister and realized her horror, "Cool, then we'll just be going. Come on, Alvin."

"Right! Let's be off then!" Alvin and Eleanor turned around and left. Simon closed the door and looked to Brittney.

"Do you think they suspected anything?" He said. She just shot him a dirty looked and let go of her breath.

* * *

Eleanor and Alvin returned to her apartment where Theodore was making dinner. He had been up all day working on the wedding ceremony and was practically exhausted. When they entered, he said, "did you find Simon?"

Alvin sat down, "We did."

"And? Is everything alright?"

Eleanor went and hugged Theodore and stayed in the kitchen with him, "It's alright I guess."

"You guess? What exactly happened, guys?"

Alvin was still emotionally drained, "I'm not sure. Ellie, you know what's going on?"

"Not really."

Theodore was starting to get frustrated, "Well, did he get back together with Jeanette?"

"Far from it," said Eleanor.

"Very far from it."

"Then what did he do?"

Alvin got in the kitchen with them, "We're not really sure. Maybe Brittney."

"What?"

"Yeah," Alvin said as he sat at the kitchen table, "Whatever you're making it smells fantastic. When are we eating?"

"Whoa, you can't just tell me that and stop there."

Eleanor then said, "What else is there to say? He said some implicating things and now we don't know what all they did right now."

Theodore was visibly confused, "I wonder how all that happened."

"Beats me," said Alvin.

"How do you feel about the whole situation, Alvin?"

He looked away, "I'm fine with it."

Eleanor looked at him, "Oh come off the whole tough guy thing. How can you be?"

"Because I dicked her over a long time ago and now I'm paying for it. We already are at our shaky peace, and I'm fine with whatever she does now," Theodore was silent after he said that and continued to cook.

"Ellie, the reception hall finally called us back."

"What did they say?"

"It's either now or not for a long time. At least that's what I think they said. Their English wasn't fantastic."

Eleanor leaned back in the chair and sighed, "This actually aides our predicament. We can just sit the two of them near each other."

Alvin looked away, "Are you sure that's appropriate?"

"Are you harboring residual feelings?" Theodore chimed in.

"It's not that, it's just that this would be a really easy way for them to tell the world, 'hey we're together now!'. What if that's not what they want? I'm not sure the timeline of their relationship, but there is a distinct possibility that they were hiding this for quite some time. We shouldn't out them like this," Alvin grabbed a napkin from the holder and a pen from his pocket and started drawing something, "What we could do instead is sit you two in the middle, Theodore on the left and Ellie on the right. Then Ellie's Bridesmaids sit with her and the Ushers with Theodore. Or we could just do the maids of honor, Jeanette and Brittney, and the Best men, myself and Simon," he revealed a drawing of the arrangement, "I've seen it done before like this; it might work the best and they will have the chance to tell everyone whenever they please."

Eleanor sat up, "that might work."

Theodore sat the food in front of them, "It will have to work."

* * *

The next month carried on normally. Not much was seen of Jeanette, Simon or Brittney. Simon wasn't living with Alvin anymore and he could only assume that he was staying with Brittney for extended periods of time. Alvin tried to call, but he rarely got a hold of either of them. Jeanette would pop in occasionally and stay with Eleanor and Theodore, but it was unknown where she was truly staying at this point. It was known that she had moved out of Brittney's apartment but to where, they did not know.

Graduation came in the early part of May, and Simon did graduate a year early. They all went their separate ways and waited for the wedding which would be at the end of the month. Eleanor and Theodore stayed in Philadelphia in their apartment for the remainder of their lease. Alvin's lease was up, so he returned home. The last he heard from Simon was that he was going to stay in Philadelphia with Brittney until the wedding. Jeanette was the only one to return back to Hollywood that summer.

Soon, the wedding was prepared and it was a week away. Theodore and Eleanor went to Switzerland within the week left. The dress Eleanor wanted was sent with her and they stayed together in a semi lavish hotel. The honeymoon would be better, they would say. Their siblings started arriving within the week, Alvin the next day, Brittney and Simon the following day, and Jeanette arrived in the middle of the week. It was Wednesday, May 26. The Wedding would be that Saturday.


	13. Chapter 12: It's Only in Summertime

Chapter 12- It's Only in Summertime

Jeanette wandered around the hotel, looking for her room. She wasn't known for her ability to find her way around, and now she was lost, again. She had arrived the previous morning and all the signs were in German it seemed. Everyone knew English, but she was far too embarrassed to ask for aid in her quest to find her way back to her room. The sun shone in the large windows in the lobby. They were stained glass, depicting traditional Swiss scenes of revelry. The light was beautiful, but blinding; she wandered about looking for anything she recognized. It was disorienting, the whole scene she was placed in, but she soon remembered that she was on the third floor. She walked to the elevator and pressed the up button. A young man and what she assumed to be his young bride were standing behind her, waiting for the elevator as well. When it arrived, they all entered together. They were speaking French together as she stood in the corner. The elevator moved slowly to the second floor, but before it got to the third floor, it jerked to a stop and the auxiliary lights replaced the main lights.

"Qu'est qui s'est passé?" the man said to his bride. She looked worried and grabbed a hold of him. Jeanette remained calm and remembered her French for a second. He was what happened.

"Je ne sais pas," Jeanette responded in a weak French accent.

"Vous parlez Francais?" The woman responded, Jeanette understood what she said but decided to respond in English.

"I do, but it isn't much. If you speak to me in French, I can respond in English.

The man contemplated what she said for a second and responded, "We can speak English, I'm glad you assumed that."

"Yes, we probably know English better than you know French, so we'll talk in English."

Jeanette smiled, "Good, well, the Elevator has stopped."

"How long will it take?" the man asked as his wife let go of him.

"To start again? I'm not sure," Jeanette said, "just get ready for a short wait."

* * *

"When will Dave arrive?"

"It will be tomorrow I think. He had to finish some business in California so he took a later flight. What about Mrs. Miller?"

"Today I think, but it's unsure. She may have missed her flight. You know her, always forgetful," Brittney said to Simon as they floated around the pool in the Hotel. It was a beautiful pool, overlooking the mountain scenery. The still snow brushed mountains were played off by the now blooming environment. Grassy fields were filled with new flowers and shrubs, and the sunlight bathed them in a divine glow. They started to get out of the pool and towel off, "Have you seen Jeanette yet?"

"I haven't," Simon responded, "I knew she got here yesterday, but I haven't seen her yet."

"Have you seen her since that night?" Brittney asked. Simon hadn't seen her since that night he came to her apartment and saw them together. Simon never went to meet her at the pre-determined location out of lack of interest. He was hurt too far to see her again and he decided to avoid her.

"I haven't."

Brittney looked out the window despondently, "You think that for the best?" Simon didn't exactly know what to think of this question. He stared away and thought defensively, but soon realized he was in the fault.

"Brittney, I'm not sure what to think anymore. I just continue with my life and try not to think of the past," he gave her a weak smile and motioned to start walking away, "It mostly likely is not for the best, but I'm not sure either way I'll be able to resolve anything. What can I possibly say?"

Brittney knew this was a hypothetical question, but she still tried to answer it. She thought for a moment as they walked out of the pool and into the lobby, heading towards the elevator, "I'm not sure. There's not much to say at this point. You two have done enough talking I suppose."

"I would agree with you," he reached out and grabbed her and held it. She smiled and they continued to the elevator. When they arrived there were a group of people standing around it, including the hotel staff that worked in the lobby. Simon asked a young woman who was standing near the elevator, "What's going on?"

She turned to him and said in a thick accent, "Something has happened and the elevator stopped working. There are three people in it right now."

Britney responded, "Oh that's awful, is there anything we can do, Simon?"

"Uh," he was stumped, "I don't think so, and I'm not exactly well versed in elevator mechanics."

"I'm disappointed," she said jokingly, "I was under the impression that you knew everything."

"Well, that's true. I don't know most everything," they laughed together and walked to the stairs, "I feel bad for the people who are stuck in the elevator. That must be awful."

* * *

"So you two are here for your honeymoon?"

"C'est vrai. We got married in Marseille last week and we've been floating around Europe since," The man and woman Jeanette had encountered in the elevator had been sharing their experiences over the last few years with her. They were together for two years before getting married and now were stuck in an elevator with her, "Well, now we have another story to tell our children whenever they are born," they all laughed. Jeanette was still having a rough time understanding their accents but she could get by.

"I'm actually here for a wedding, so it's kind of related."

"Oh that's lovely. Who's wedding?" the woman asked.

"My younger sister. She and her high school sweetheart are getting married in a few days. They've been together for 6 years now I think."

"6 years! Wow that it fantastic!" The man said.

She looked away, "It really is. I'm very happy for her."

The woman looked to her, "My love, you look saddened. What is the matter? This is a happy occasion!"

The man chimed in, "Is something troubling you?"

Jeanette looked to him, "I would say so, yes."

"Well," the woman said, "what is it?"

The man looked at the woman, "She needn't speak if it makes her uncomfortable. I mean, she really just met us an hour ago."

Jeanette interrupted him, "Oh no, don't worry, I would like to share."

The woman looked at her, "Are you sure, my dear, we don't mean to pressure you!"

"No, I really would like to share."

The man lit a cigarette, "then please, go ahead."

"Well, I've been surrounded by all of these good feelings for quite some time now, and it pains me to be around it. My boyfriend and I broke up a while back, and now he's with someone else and he's here to attend the wedding, with her," Jeanette held back, she knew she wasn't divulging the entire truth, "It's hard to see him with someone else, you know?"

The man whispered to the woman at a level that Jeanette couldn't hear, "My dear, she is not telling us everything."

"I know, but we can't expect her to, right?"

"You're right," he looked at Jeanette, "You must let him free now. If he is happy, it should make you happy to see him that way. I'm sorry things did not work between the two of you, but the hardest things one can ever do for someone else is to let them be free. It will be difficult, my dear, but that's the only way you can find happiness later in life," he looked at this watch. The man couldn't remember when they had gotten in the elevator, but it had been some time now, "Do you understand?"

Jeanette was deep in thought, "I do. Thank you so much."

He smiled and the elevator started to move again, "Ah Mon Dieu! Finally!"

They all stood up and the woman grabbed hold of the man's arm, "Fantastique, we can finally get out of here," she looked at Jeanette, "Young lady, we never got your name!"

"I'm Jeanette, and you two?"

"I'm Stephanie, and this is my husband Claude," their floor came and the door opened. They started to walk out, "I can't believe we spent all of that time together and we never knew each other's names!"

Jeanette responded, "Neither can I," The door started to close, but Claude stretched his arm out and stopped it.

"Jeanette, remember what we told you. Good luck, mon Chere," they continued to walk out until they were out of sight.

"I will, Claude."

* * *

That Friday, Mrs. Miller and Dave arrived at the hotel par Simon's intuition. It was late Friday when they arrived, so they waited to get caught up with everyone until after the wedding. Nervousness was thick in the air the entire day. Jeanette and Alvin stayed together most of the time and didn't see the others. At that point, Jeanette and Simon hadn't made amends, so she was privy to stay away from him, not to his chagrin. Eleanor and Theodore were wandering around, lost in each other most of the time, until Friday night came. They slept in separate rooms according to tradition. Mrs. Miller echoed, the bride and groom can't see each other on their wedding day, so the two didn't. Saturday morning came, the wedding was to be in the afternoon. Theodore and Simon were together, getting their tuxedoes on.

"You still haven't talked to Jeanette?" Theodore asked Simon as he put on his white shirt. Theodore had stayed in Simon's room the night before, and naturally they got changed together. The room was bathed in the soft glow of natural light coming in through the window. IT was mild outside, and they let the breeze roll in while they were getting ready, "For that matter, have you talked to Alvin since then?"

"I have talked to Alvin, multiple times at that."

"How does he feel about this," Theodore said as he walked into the bathroom to use the mirror to tie his tie.

"About what, Theodore?"

"Please don't play dumb Simon, it doesn't play to your strong suits well."

"Well, if you must know, I have no idea how he feels about this."

"So you two haven't talked about it at all?"

"Brilliant, and again, you are right."

"Hey, there's no need for you to get snide with me," Theodore said as he walked into the main room again, where Simon sat in waiting.

"Well, I really don't see the point of you coming and bothering me when I can deal with my own problems at this point. I'm a college grad after all."

"That's fantastic and I'm fully aware of that. It doesn't mean that I can't worry for you two still."

Simon walked into the bathroom and closed the door, "It does mean that you don't need to anymore."

"Simon, you know what I mean. You two will always be my brothers," Theodore hadn't shown this side of his personality for quite some time. Upon entering High School, he got more composed and intellectual, much like Simon. He was still generous and caring, but he wasn't exactly the same. Now, he was acting like himself, "and I just want you two to be happy."

Simon came out of the bathroom and put his hand on Theodore's shoulder, "Thank you Theo, for always being there for me. I've been through a hard few years, but you've always been supportive of me. I will always be there for you as well and hopefully I can find the happiness you have one day," Simon leaned in and hugged his younger brother, the one that had always had the problems with being picked on and teased, at this moment, seemed to have his life the most together, "Come on, let's get to the church."

Theodore broke away from Simon and grabbed his tuxedo coat, "Yes, let's go," they walked out the door and met Alvin, who was waiting for them. Alvin leaned in and hugged Theodore.

"Today's the big day, isn't it?" Alvin said. Simon averted his gaze to the floor.

They all walked forward, Theodore in between his two brothers, "It is. I'm glad you both could come."

"And miss this?" Alvin said, "I would have gladly missed a thousand concerts if only to come see my baby brother get married."

Theodore laughed, "Baby brother? Our differences in birth times are negligible."

Simon and Alvin both laughed and put their arms around their brother. Simon said, "You'll always be the baby of the family, Theo."

They got to the first floor lobby and walked out of the door. Theodore responded, "I couldn't have it any other way," The light outside was bright, but none of them minded. They walked to the car, where Dave was waiting for them. They all got in and Dave drove them to the Church, just like it had been old times.

* * *

"Brittney, how does my hair look?" Eleanor, who usually was deep in composure, was fretting in the Church, going over last details, "I mean, I need to look perfect today," she was wearing her full white gown, and Brittney was in a green draped dress par Eleanor's decision. She put on her a sapphire necklace that Mrs. Miller had bought her in Paris before arriving. She wore Mrs. Seville, Dave's mother's, Emerald ring, and a pair of Mrs. Miller's vintage shoes. The last addition was a white lace sash she wore around her waist that she got in town as something new.

"Your hair looks stunning, and, regardless of how many times I tell you, you look amazing," Brittney said as she finished the last touches of her make-up.

"Thank you Brittney, I'm just starting to freak out."

"It's understandable. It's quite a momentous event."

"Your recent bouts of clear composure has been refreshing, Brittney."

She looked over to her, "When have a not been composed, ever?"

Eleanor laughed, "That's true, you've always been the picture of elegance."

"You're right! Absolutely true!" Simon entered the door and signaled for Brittney.

"Brittney, it's time to go."

She looked to Simon, "Oh right, let's go," She started to walk out the door, "I'll see you at the alter, Ellie."

She looked to her oldest sister with longing, "I'll see you on the other side," they both left and Eleanor was left with her thoughts for a minute until there was another interruption. A woman walked in the door and immediately embraced Eleanor.

"Ellie, it's so good to see you again."

Eleanor looked a little shocked, "Jeanette, it's nice to see you again. Where have you been?"

"The hotel, getting ready. I just wanted to know how you were doing before I go out there."

"Just a bit nervous, but what about you? Where have you been since that day Alvin and I saw you?"

"I'm fine, Ellie, don't worry about me. Good luck today,'" she started to walk out the door, and Eleanor grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Jeanette, stay for a second. Are you alright with Simon and Brittney."

"My feelings aren't of any concern, today is your day, so stop thinking about us and enjoy it!" Jeanette walked out the door as the music started to signal the beginning of the procession. Jeanette had always been the one that would sacrifice herself to spare others, and she was doing it again. Eleanor heard her cue to start walking. Mrs. Miller, entered the room and grabbed her by the arm.

"Let's go, Ellie, it's time!" Mrs. Miller was teary eyed and visibly excited. They left the room and headed for the chapel. The Chapel was filled with music and light. All the people they had ever met in their travels was there, and they were all full of amorous feelings. The air was intoxicating with the deep feeling of nostalgia, longing, envy, and love. Eleanor gracefully made her way down the aisle, and there he was. Her best friend, her confidant, her only one, he was always there for her. She approached the alter and her grabbed her hand.

Theodore whispered, "Are you ready?"

"I've never been so ready," she responded in the same fashion. The priest looked and both of them and spoke.

He said, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds. Admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved. Now, join hands as you say to each other your vows. Eleanor Miller, Do you take Theodore Seville to be your wedded husband, to share your life openly, standing with him, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and to love, so long as you both shall live?"

Eleanor looked lovingly into her lover's eyes, "I do," the crowd swooned at the words. Eyes teared up and people held each other.

The priest continued, "Theodore Seville, Do you take Eleanor Miller to be your wedded wife, to share your life openly, standing with her, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and to love, so long as you both shall live?"

Theodore held softly, "Of course I do," they both smiled huge smiles at each other and Theodore gave out a barely audible laugh.

The priest continued, "do we have the rings?" Alvin and Brittney gave Theodore and Eleanor their respective rings.

Eleanor spoke first, "I, Eleanor Miller, give you, Theodore Seville, this ring as a sign of my love and eternal commitment." She slowly placed the ring on his finger.

Theodore was next, "I, Theodore Seville, give you, Eleanor Miller, this ring as a sign of my love and eternal commitment." He grabbed the ring and gently placed it on her finger. It fit perfectly.

The priest said, "Mr. Seville, you may kiss your bride," Eleanor was smiling so largely it was hard to kiss her. Theodore leaned in and they shared only a moment's kiss, but it seemed to contain all their future dreams in that one kiss. The world stopped for just one second, and one second only to witness their union. The priest finished, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm honored to present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Seville," The procession quickly erupted in glorious uproar for the couple. Simon, Jeanette, Alvin and Brittney all ran out of the church to join a line outside of the church, waiting to throw rice on the newlyweds. Theodore put her veil back on and they slowly walked outside.

They reached the blinding summer's sun, greeted by a barrage of rice. They covered their heads as they headed to a limo that was in wait for the two. Alvin, Jeanette, Simon and Brittney were the last people in the train. Alvin and Brittney were emphatically throwing rice in the air and cheering, while Simon and Jeanette were more reserved. The two pairings were facing each other on opposite side to the tunnel. Alvin averted his gaze from Brittney most of the time, and she was kind enough to do the same. Theodore and Eleanor climbed into the limo and started to drive away.

"Theo, can you believe what just happened?" They were held up in the corner of the limo opposite the side they got in, gently holding each other, "I mean, we're married now!"

"It will hit us tomorrow I'm sure. I still can't believe it to tell the truth," He looked out the side of the window, and then to the back of the Limo. He could still see the people celebrating, "you can still see everyone."

Eleanor looked back, "Oh yeah, but check that out," she pointed to the snow capped mountains that lined the ridge that the church was located on, "I can't believe it's snowing," A light snow was falling in the direction of the church on the tops of the mountains.

* * *

The crowd stayed for a while after the bride and groom had left their view. In the end, it was only Simon, Brittney, Jeanette and Alvin. Jeanette started to walk away to her car, which prompted Simon to look up, but it was too late to get her attention. Brittney was still clutching his arm when she looked up at Alvin. Their eyes met for the first time in a long time, and for the first time since she had gotten together with Simon. These eyes, which had so much history together, would not have been quelled easily. For a few seconds, they met without emotion. Alvin's eyes suddenly looked empathetic and he suddenly let out a smile. A weak, very weak smile. At the that moment, the light snow had turned to a light rain and it started to rain on the four of them. Jeanette stopped near her car and noticed the rain. Simon, Brittney and Alvin all looked up. The rain was lightly falling on their faces. At that moment, the rain was falling in Hollywood, at their family home. At the campus in Philadelphia. At the hotel back in town at the bottom of the mountain. And at that small church in Switzerland. It cleaned the rice away from the walk way and other various dirty stain acquired that day. Alvin looked back at the two of them, still with the weak smile he had earlier. Brittney, retuned the smile he gave her, and Simon followed suit. They all began to walk to their car.

Simon said, "You know, they say that rain on a wedding day is a sign of a good marriage to come."

Alvin responded as they got in the car, "They tend to say many things, but, in this case, they're right."

**Hello Readers,**

**Ah, well that's the end. I'm glad you came with me on this journey and hopefully you'll share you'll thoughts with me. Awareness is the Option is the next installment and that's probably going to take me a year to whip out so don't expect it for a while. In the meantime, Dicerox presented me with an interesting idea so I'm going to take him up on it. Another thing I will be making is an anthology of Short Stories that take place in between _Awareness is the Option and Slanted and Enchanted_. They'll be in chronological order, over the five years from the end of_ Awareness is the Option_, to the beginning of _Slanted and Enchanted_. The last one will be the first that I write and it will be based around the mysterious break up that Alvin and Brittney had a year before the current timeline, 5 months before Slanted and Enchanted. It will be 10+ one shots, hopefully, that will show snapshots of their lives in times that I'm not writing about. If the response to them is so grand, I've been entertaining the idea of the fifth installment, if I ever get that far, to be set 3.5 years before _Slanted and Enchanted. _The anthology's name is yet to be decided upon, but I think its going to be, _Frozen in Time; Poems, Short Stories and Proses of the S&E series. _The second volume of the anthology will either take place before or after the 3 book. **

**I hope I can make all of these things to happen, but, being a new college student, it's difficult to really find free time. The one shots will flow and hopefully so will the chapter of _Awareness is the Option. _That's all really, continue to read. I really appreciate it.**

**Cheers,**

**B.t.E**


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